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Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)

Q: Is Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) a good school?

Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) ranks 1612 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1612^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 25% of California high schools

Summary

Dickens (Billy Joe) High is a very small continuation high school in Hughson, CA, serving just 33 students in grades 9-12 within the Hughson Unified school district, designed to help students who have faced significant challenges in traditional school settings.

The school presents a unique profile: while its standardized test scores are very low, its graduation rate is remarkably high at 95.7%, even slightly exceeding the state average. This pattern of helping at-risk students earn diplomas despite academic struggles is common among similar schools, such as Argus High (Continuation) and Petersen Alternative Center for Education at John B Allard. However, Dickens faces a serious challenge with chronic absenteeism, with over two-thirds of students missing significant school, which is much higher than at comprehensive schools like Hughson High.

To support its students, Dickens spends significantly more per student than other local high schools. Compared to other continuation programs in the region, Dickens appears to be one of the more effective at achieving its core mission of graduation, though all such schools share the challenge of low test scores. This highlights the different role it plays compared to a traditional comprehensive high school in the same district.

Students ?

300.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$35,970

Per pupil spending ?

72.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6937 Fox Rd.
Hughson, CA 95326-0099

(209) 883-4182

District: Hughson Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

81.8%

White:

18.2%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 8th percentile in 2010 → 25th in 2025

Strengths

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2010

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (12% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (67% vs 19% California)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 42 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school12%

District avg36%

California avg41%

1,612^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 25%▲ up 2 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2High Schools in the Hughson Unified

901^st of 1,543Hughson Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.1	1612 of 2162	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	1774 of 2159	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.9	2002 of 2123	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.9	2109 of 2133	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.9	1965 of 2017	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	17.8	1554 of 2039	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	6.7	2160 of 2426	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	8.9	2047 of 2354	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	9.1	2065 of 2367	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	6.3	2089 of 2281	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	20.4	1798 of 2238	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	10.2	1884 of 2117	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	12.3	1820 of 2063	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	13.6	1686 of 1968	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	5.2	1761 of 1901	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	11.5	1605 of 1653	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	23.9	1449 of 1902	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.7	1845 of 1861	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	15.7	1712 of 2026	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.1	1927 of 1943	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.9	1915 of 1937	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.3	1802 of 1862	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	11.4	1780 of 1916	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.5	1863 of 1880	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.9	1773 of 1834	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2024)24th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)15th percentile~ school

Male (2022)7th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics29%-9 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy7%-42 vs state

Science0%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	6937 Fox Rd.	Hughson	95326	Stanislaus County	Hughson Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 883-4182	33			72.7%	6 (18.2%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (81.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24.1	1612^th of 2162 public high schools	25.4%		16.5	1774^th of 2159 public high schools	17.8%	162			0.0		0.0			7.1	7.1			28.6	28.6	$35,970	$34,390	$1,580
Valley Community Day	Public	7-12	6937 Fox Rd.	Hughson	95326	Stanislaus County	Hughson Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 883-4182	4	1	3.8		1 (25.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)														$35,970	$34,390	$1,580
Hughson High	Public	9-12	7419 East Whitmore Ave.	Hughson	95326	Stanislaus County	Hughson Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 883-0469	859	37	23.5	57.2%	421 (49.0%)	6 (0.7%)	398 (46.3%)	18 (2.1%)	7 (0.8%)	5 (0.6%)	4 (0.5%)	52.9	969^th of 2162 public high schools	55.2%		59.5	780^th of 2159 public high schools	63.9%	189			18.4		18.4			64.3	64.3			24.9	24.9	$18,691	$17,196	$1,495
Teel School in Empire	Public	5-12	5255 1st St.	Empire	95357	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6600	125	13	9.6	81.6%	30 (24.0%)	3 (2.4%)	86 (68.8%)	3 (2.4%)	1 (0.8%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	8.2	2104^th of 2162 public high schools	2.7%		9.3	2107^th of 2159 public high schools	2.4%	3	0.0				5.3	0.0	0.0	8.0	3.9	9.1	0.0	0.0	2.0	$85,797	$75,536	$10,261
Whitmore Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	3435 Don Pedro Rd.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Ceres Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 556-1617	96	5	19.4	54.2%	32 (33.3%)	1 (1.0%)	49 (51.0%)	6 (6.3%)	1 (1.0%)	2 (2.1%)	5 (5.2%)	52.3	987^th of 2162 public high schools	54.3%		59.6	777^th of 2159 public high schools	64.0%	210			30.8		33.3			53.9	53.9			19.2	19.2	$26,680	$26,670	$10
Petersen Alternative Center for Education at John B Allard	Public	6-12	3113 Mitchell Rd.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6717	138	8	16.4	86.2%	23 (16.7%)	5 (3.6%)	105 (76.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	2 (1.4%)	12.3	1899^th of 2162 public high schools	12.2%		10.1	2066^th of 2159 public high schools	4.3%	167	0.0				0.0		4.2	11.1	6.3		0.0	5.6	2.1	$45,810	$39,846	$5,964
Peter Johansen High	Public	9-12	641 Norseman Dr.	Modesto	95357	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1760	2,029	91	22.3	81.9%	251 (12.4%)	53 (2.6%)	1,474 (72.6%)	69 (3.4%)	4 (0.2%)	14 (0.7%)	164 (8.1%)	35.8	1363^rd of 2162 public high schools	37.0%		45.7	1107^th of 2159 public high schools	48.7%	256		11.1	21.4	6.3	20.5			43.0	43.0			13.1	13.1	$24,410	$22,396	$2,014
Argus High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	2555 Lawrence St.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Ceres Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 556-1800	189	10	18.5	93.1%	13 (6.9%)	1 (0.5%)	167 (88.4%)	4 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7.7	2129^th of 2162 public high schools	1.5%		9.8	2085^th of 2159 public high schools	3.4%	44			1.8		3.3			1.8	1.8			0.0	0.0	$33,901	$31,362	$2,539
Ceres High	Public	9-12	2320 Central Ave.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Ceres Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 556-1920	1,660	74	22.5	87.0%	186 (11.2%)	23 (1.4%)	1,343 (80.9%)	80 (4.8%)	6 (0.4%)	6 (0.4%)	16 (1.0%)	59.8	828^th of 2162 public high schools	61.7%		47.5	1066^th of 2159 public high schools	50.6%	238			35.2		34.6			60.1	60.1			21.3	21.3	$22,538	$20,518	$2,020
John H. Pitman High	Public	9-12	2525 West Christoffersen Pkwy.	Turlock	95382	Stanislaus County	Turlock Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 656-1592	1,986	90	22.1	65.9%	549 (27.6%)	41 (2.1%)	1,117 (56.2%)	189 (9.5%)	9 (0.5%)	14 (0.7%)	66 (3.3%)	47.7	1078^th of 2162 public high schools	50.1%		61.5	729^th of 2159 public high schools	66.2%	349			17.0	35.3	22.2			49.7	49.7			21.7	21.7	$20,504	$19,890	$614

Frequently Asked Questions about Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)

How many students attend Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)?

In the 2024-25 school year, 33 students attended Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation).

Is Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) a good school?

Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) ranks 1612^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) in?

Hughson Unified

What is the racial makeup of Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)?

Students at Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation) are 82% Hispanic, 18% White.

Rate Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.