Yuba County Office of Education

The four schools in Yuba County Office of Education include three alternative schools and one high school, with grades spanning K–12 and 7–12; enrollment ranges from 22 to 250 students. Reported 2025–2026 proficiency results are substantially below state rates: for example, Yuba County Career Preparatory Charter scored 20% in ELA, 2% in math, and 10% in science, compared with state rates of 49%, 38%, and 36%. Thomas E. Mathews Community scored 9% in ELA and 0% in math. Yuba County Special Education has no test scores supplied, and Harry P B Carden has suppressed scores. The clearest shared academic concern in the reported results is the large gap below state proficiency, especially in math.

Career Preparatory has the strongest reported results where it can be compared with Mathews: its ELA proficiency is 11 percentage points higher (20% versus 9%), and its math result is 2 points higher (2% versus 0%). It also exceeds district proficiency rates by 2 points in ELA, 0 points in math, and 2 points in science, though it remains 30, 36, and 26 points below the state in those subjects. Attendance varies sharply: Mathews reports 83% chronic absenteeism, compared with 55% at Special Education, 38% at Career Preparatory, and 0% at Carden. Mathews is 42 points above the district rate of 41% and 64 points above the state rate of 18%; Carden’s reported figure is a striking exception, but the data do not explain it.

ELA results improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 at both schools with comparable reported scores: Career Preparatory rose 4 points, from 15% to 20%, while Mathews rose 9 points, from 0% to 9%. Math changed little—Career Preparatory increased from 0% to 2%, while Mathews remained at 0%—and Career Preparatory’s science result fell 5 points, from 15% to 10%. Other figures may help families compare schools but do not explain outcomes: 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible rates were 90% at Career Preparatory, 96% at Mathews, 65% at Special Education, and 86% at Carden; student–teacher ratios ranged from 7.9 to 17.6. Career Preparatory reports a 55% graduation rate, 33 points below the state. SchoolDigger gives the shared district a rank of 812 out of 968, at the 16th percentile, with one star.