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Independence Continuation High

Q: Is Independence Continuation High a good school?

Independence Continuation High ranks 1584 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1584^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 27% of California high schools

Summary

Independence Continuation High is a very small public high school in Madera, CA, serving about 45 students in grades 9-12 within the Golden Valley Unified district, designed specifically for students who need a non-traditional setting to get back on track for graduation.

This school serves a student population with very high economic need, and its academic test scores are significantly lower than both the district and state averages, which is common for continuation schools focused on credit recovery. However, a key strength is its improving graduation rate, which at 84.6% is close to the state average and suggests the school is effective in its core mission of helping at-risk students complete their diplomas. The school faces a major challenge with chronic absenteeism, which is much higher than at nearby comprehensive high schools like Liberty High or Clovis West High.

When compared to other alternative schools in the region, such as Mountain Vista High or the juvenile hall school, Independence often shows stronger graduation outcomes. It operates with a very low student-teacher ratio, allowing for more individual attention, and does so with lower per-student spending than many comparison schools. For parents considering this option, it represents a dedicated environment for students who have struggled elsewhere, prioritizing graduation completion even as it works to improve core academic proficiency and attendance.

Students ?

11.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,944

Per pupil spending ?

88.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

12150 Road 36
Madera, CA 93636-8410

(559) 645-3580

District: Golden Valley Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

68.9%

White:

22.2%

American Indian:

6.7%

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Compare Independence Continuation High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 32nd percentile in 2022 → 27th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (19% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Dropout rate above the California average (15% vs 8%)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school19%

District avg47%

California avg41%

1,584^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 27%▲ up 2 pts since 2018

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2High Schools in the Golden Valley Unified

525^th of 1,543Golden Valley 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	25.4	1584 of 2162	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	1987 of 2159	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.0	1703 of 2170	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.2	1445 of 2123	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.8	1006 of 1290	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	1523 of 2017	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	5.0	2203 of 2426	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	4.9	2139 of 2354	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	5.0	2151 of 2367	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	4.7	2096 of 2281	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	17.9	1872 of 2238	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	4.8	1953 of 2117	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	4.8	1913 of 2063	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	4.5	1820 of 1968	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	9.9	1703 of 1901	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	1491 of 1900	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.5	1829 of 1902	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.1	1400 of 1917	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.0	1097 of 1861	41.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.3	1592 of 2013	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	1797 of 2026	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.0	1528 of 2030	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.9	1446 of 1943	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.8	1363 of 1942	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	1584 of 1963	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.2	866 of 1122	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Male (2025)30th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)22nd percentile-5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)21st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy33%-15 vs state

Science19%-14 vs state

Mathematics5%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Independence Continuation High

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 (2024)
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 11th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	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
Independence Continuation High	Public	9-12	12150 Road 36	Madera	93636	Madera County	Golden Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 645-3580	45	4	11.7	88.9%	10 (22.2%)	1 (2.2%)	31 (68.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25.4	1584^th of 2162 public high schools	26.7%		11.3	1987^th of 2159 public high schools	8.0%	403	19.1	19.1	33.3	33.3	4.8	4.8	$11,944	$1,007	$10,937
Liberty High	Public	9-12	12220 Road 36	Madera	93636	Madera County	Golden Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 645-3500	748	37	20.3	34.5%	308 (41.2%)	10 (1.3%)	367 (49.1%)	45 (6.0%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	12 (1.6%)	65.2	687^th of 2162 public high schools	68.2%		48.2	1050^th of 2159 public high schools	51.4%	363	31.6	32.8	67.2	67.2	28.1	28.1	$13,338	$374	$12,964
Lincoln Community Day	Public	7-12	12150 Road 36	Madera	93636	Madera County	Golden Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 645-3580	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Juvenile Hall (Endeavor/Voyager Secondary)	Public	7-12	28261 Avenue 14	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 675-7900	29	4	6.8	89.7%	3 (10.3%)	2 (6.9%)	22 (75.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	8.4	2099^th of 2162 public high schools	2.9%					(n/a)			8.3	5.9	0.0	0.0	$62,184	$21,404	$40,780
Enterprise Secondary	Public	6-12	1665 East Olive Ave.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 662-4856	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Florence E. Rata	Public	9-12	1373 West Mesa Ave.	Fresno	93711	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 451-4585	35	8	4.2	88.6%	6 (17.1%)	3 (8.6%)	23 (65.7%)	3 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)							$183,296	$21,085	$162,211
Mountain Vista High	Public	10-12	1901 Clinton Ave.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 675-4580	162	13	12.4	96.3%	5 (3.1%)	4 (2.5%)	149 (92.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	12.5	1895^th of 2162 public high schools	12.3%		16.4	1777^th of 2159 public high schools	17.7%	118	5.4	5.3	21.9	21.9	0.0	0.0	$29,571	$5,768	$23,803
Clovis West High	Public	9-12	1070 East Teague Ave.	Fresno	93720	Fresno County	Clovis Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 327-2000	2,184	106	20.5	47.8%	628 (28.8%)	112 (5.1%)	1,114 (51.0%)	200 (9.2%)	13 (0.6%)	6 (0.3%)	107 (4.9%)	93.8	126^th of 2162 public high schools	94.2%		94.4	120^th of 2159 public high schools	94.4%	6	59.1	59.1	83.3	83.3	53.6	53.6	$14,019	$711	$13,308
Bullard High	Public	9-12	5445 North Palm Ave.	Fresno	93704	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 451-4320	2,485	116	21.3	64.9%	536 (21.6%)	235 (9.5%)	1,421 (57.2%)	148 (6.0%)	15 (0.6%)	15 (0.6%)	107 (4.3%)	42.8	1193^rd of 2162 public high schools	44.8%		44.3	1141^st of 2159 public high schools	47.2%	52	18.9	18.8	52.3	52.3	18.1	18.1	$18,822	$2,324	$16,498
Justin Garza High	Public	9-12	4100 North Grantland Ave.	Fresno	93723	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 274-4700	2,095	92	22.8	72.9%	267 (12.7%)	160 (7.6%)	1,229 (58.7%)	393 (18.8%)	10 (0.5%)	2 (0.1%)	31 (1.5%)	51.3	1013^th of 2162 public high schools	53.1%		64.7	660^th of 2159 public high schools	69.4%	353	24.2	24.2	53.4	53.4	24.8	24.8

Frequently Asked Questions about Independence Continuation High

What is the racial makeup of Independence Continuation High?

Students at Independence Continuation High are 69% Hispanic, 22% White, 7% American Indian, 2% African American.

Is Independence Continuation High a good school?

Independence Continuation High ranks 1584^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Independence Continuation High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 45 students attended Independence Continuation High.

What district is Independence Continuation High in?

Golden Valley Unified

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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.