High Schools in Sierra Sands Unified

The two high schools in Sierra Sands Unified serve grades 9–12: Sherman E. Burroughs High enrolls 1,536 students, while Mesquite Continuation High enrolls 95. In 2025–2026, the schools’ results differed across academics and student outcomes, not just in one subject. The most important finding is that Burroughs had substantially stronger test results and graduation outcomes, and much lower dropout and chronic-absenteeism rates, than Mesquite.

Burroughs stands out at the top of this two-school comparison: its all-grades proficiency was 75% in English Language Arts (ELA), 25% in math and 38% in science. It led Mesquite by 64 percentage points in ELA, 16 in math and 35 in science. Burroughs also graduated 88% of students, compared with Mesquite’s 51%; dropout rates were 11% and 27%, respectively, and chronic absenteeism was 23% versus 88%. Burroughs was above the state in ELA and science, while Mesquite was below the state in all three test subjects.

Recent test trends were mixed: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Burroughs’ ELA rose 6 points, math fell 7 and science was nearly unchanged; Mesquite’s ELA fell 12 points, while math rose 9 and science rose 3. The schools’ equal-weight average remained below state results in all subjects, with the gap widening in ELA and science and essentially unchanged in math. SchoolDigger gives Burroughs 3 stars and the 68th percentile, versus Mesquite’s 1 star and 14th percentile. Mesquite has a lower student–teacher ratio (13.8 versus 20.4), higher reported spending per student ($29,512 versus $17,219) and a higher share reported as free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025 (77% versus 53%); these are differences in context, not explanations for outcomes. Mesquite is a continuation school, so the campuses’ settings differ.