Summary
Grace M. Davis High is a public high school serving grades 9–12 in Modesto, California, in the Modesto City High district; it has 2,083 students. Its latest graduation rate is strong, but the most important concern is that proficiency is below state, district, and nearby traditional high school averages in all three tested subjects.
Test results are weakest in math compared with the state: 13% of students were proficient, versus 38% statewide and 25% districtwide, gaps of 26 and 12 percentage points. ELA proficiency was 37%, compared with 49% for both the state and district; science was 17%, versus 36% statewide and 28% districtwide. The six nearby traditional high schools averaged 53% in ELA, 27% in math, and 30% in science, putting Grace 16, 15, and 13 points lower, respectively; Grace scored below all six in every subject. Graduation is a relative strength: 98% of students graduated in 2025–2026, compared with 95% in the district and 88% statewide. Chronic absenteeism has fallen, but at 24% it matched the district rate and remained 6 points above the state’s 18%.
Grace’s SchoolDigger ranking declined from the 42nd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 28th percentile in 2025–2026; its latest standing is 1 star, and it ranked above only nearby Robert Elliott Alternative Education Center among the eight same-district schools. Over the same period, ELA rose by about 1 percentage point and math by 4, while science was nearly unchanged; state gaps widened in ELA and science, while the already large math gap changed little. The 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 21.9:1, second-lowest among Grace and nearby same-district schools with comparable data, despite weaker test results than the traditional peers. In 2024–2025, 80% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, the third-highest share among Grace and the six nearby traditional schools. SchoolDigger’s statewide subgroup rankings also show notable concerns: the school ranked at the 2nd percentile for Asian students and the 8th percentile for students in special education; the latter fell from the 69th percentile in 2023–2024.
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