Summary:
The four high-school-level schools in Merced County Office of Education serve students in Merced County. Together, they enroll 509 students, with school enrollments ranging from 99 to 160; three serve grades 6–12, while Come Back Charter serves grades 9–12. The clearest shared concern is that proficiency at the three 6–12 schools is far below state levels: their average is 8% in ELA versus 49% statewide, 2% in math versus 38%, and 5% in science versus 36%.
No single school leads in every subject: Valley Los Banos Community leads ELA at 12%, Valley Merced Community leads math at 6%, and Valley Atwater Community leads science at 9%. Come Back’s science result is 14%, but its grade span differs. Atwater also has the strongest graduation and attendance figures: 86% graduate and 26% are chronically absent, compared with statewide rates of 88% and 18%. Across all four schools, average graduation is 69% and chronic absenteeism is 56%. Los Banos has the highest absenteeism at 81%, while Come Back has the lowest graduation rate, 44%, and highest dropout rate, 56%.
Average scores improved from 2024–25 to 2025–26—by about 1 percentage point in ELA, 2 in math, and 4 in science among the three 6–12 schools—but each average gap with the state narrowed by only about 1 point. SchoolDigger’s reported percentiles rose for all three Valley schools: Los Banos from 4 to 12, Atwater from 2 to 8, and Merced from 6 to 10; its districtwide listing gives all four schools the same rank, 949 of 968, 2nd percentile, and 0 stars. Student–teacher ratios range from 14.6 at Los Banos to 27.2 at Come Back. All four report free/reduced lunch eligible for 2024–25, ranging from 88% at Los Banos and Come Back to 95% at Merced; Atwater is 94%, despite having the strongest graduation and attendance outcomes. Come Back serves a different grade span, and its all-grades ELA and math results are not supplied.
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