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Independent Study Sojourner Truth

Public, Alternative Grades K-12

5315^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Alternative Schools

Better than 9% of California alternative schools

Summary

Independent Study Sojourner Truth is a K-12 alternative school serving 481 students within the Oakland Unified district, designed for students who may need a different approach than a traditional school setting.

The school serves a very high-need population and faces significant challenges, particularly with student attendance and retention; its chronic absenteeism rate of 73.4% and dropout rate of 30.1% are dramatically higher than nearby alternative schools like Castro Valley Virtual Academy or Horizons School: Independent Study. Despite spending more per student ($25,126) than most comparable schools and having a low student-teacher ratio, outcomes in graduation and test proficiency are generally below state averages, creating a notable resource-outcome paradox.

Interestingly, the school shows pockets of academic strength in upper grades, with 11th-grade math and science proficiency exceeding state averages, suggesting it may be more effective for students who persist in the program. When compared to Lodestar: A Lighthouse Community Charter Public, a nearby school with similar student demographics, Sojourner Truth has much higher chronic absenteeism and a lower graduation rate, indicating its struggles extend beyond poverty demographics alone and are more acute than some peer institutions.

481

Students ?

13.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,126

Per pupil spending ?

97.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8251 Fontaine St.
Oakland, CA 94605-4109

(510) 879-5330

District: Oakland Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

29.1%

African American:

28.1%

White:

24.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Independent Study Sojourner Truth to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 25th percentile in 2022 → 84th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 59 percentile points since 2022

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (32% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (59% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg29%

California avg41%

Elementary school

5,315^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 9%▬ steady since 2022

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

1,490^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 46%▲ up 29 pts since 2022

From bottom 17% (2022) to bottom 46% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

341^st of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 16%▲ up 58 pts since 2015

From bottom 26% (2015) to top 16% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1194^th of 1,543Oakland 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.5	5315 of 5857	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	5545 of 5869	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.7	5243 of 5859	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.5	5320 of 5883	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	27.7	502 of 663	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.4	4647 of 5597	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.5	5323 of 5612	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	5013 of 5609	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	4969 of 5635	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	25.2	4103 of 5084	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	4729 of 5460	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	5108 of 5517	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	4624 of 5363	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	4928 of 5264	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.0	4881 of 5628	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.4	5090 of 5663	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.3	1490 of 2761	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.5	1882 of 2783	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	14.5	2517 of 2781	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.6	2279 of 2740	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	4.9	2199 of 2259	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	13.3	1633 of 1804	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	13.7	1599 of 1777	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	7.8	1722 of 1769	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.4	466 of 609	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.1	342 of 613	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.0	449 of 637	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.9	1348 of 2533	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.6	1777 of 2551	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	14.3	2328 of 2531	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.2	2022 of 2509	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.9	91 of 2395	96.2%	★★★★★
2023	10.6	2298 of 2374	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.8	1869 of 2359	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	52.2	999 of 2542	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.8	1467 of 2579	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.0	2154 of 2531	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.9	2147 of 2458	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	38.2	1429 of 2534	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.2	1274 of 2552	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	28.5	1715 of 2538	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	17.4	2184 of 2527	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.8	341 of 2162	84.2%	★★★★☆
2024	62.2	716 of 2159	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.7	1135 of 2170	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.5	1597 of 2123	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	1736 of 2133	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	24.2	1454 of 2021	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	11.9	1747 of 2039	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.2	1466 of 1994	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	15.6	1856 of 2426	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.5	1603 of 2354	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	16.5	1779 of 2367	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	17.8	1716 of 2281	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	31.6	1314 of 2238	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	21.6	1476 of 2117	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	20.2	1496 of 2063	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	25.4	1239 of 1968	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	32.0	994 of 1901	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2004	19.0	1319 of 1653	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	29.3	375 of 522	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.7	465 of 592	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.7	354 of 1906	81.4%	★★★★☆
2024	60.7	653 of 1915	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.9	1109 of 1915	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	17.3	1553 of 1858	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.1	1552 of 1833	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	83.1	265 of 1917	86.2%	★★★★☆
2019	15.8	1493 of 1814	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.0	207 of 2013	89.7%	★★★★☆
2024	70.0	499 of 2026	75.4%	★★★★☆
2023	56.8	784 of 2030	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	27.0	1412 of 1943	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.8	1455 of 1937	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	24.4	1414 of 1916	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	1513 of 1880	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

African American (2022)24th percentile+15 vs school

Hispanic (2022)19th percentile+10 vs school

Female (2025)17th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)13th percentile+4 vs school

Middle school

Hispanic (2025)96th percentile+50 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)61st percentile+15 vs school

Female (2025)47th percentile~ school

Male (2025)44th percentile~ school

African American (2025)23rd percentile-23 vs school

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)90th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2023)86th percentile+38 vs school

Female (2025)81st percentile-3 vs school

African American (2022)28th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2022)26th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Science39%+6 vs state

Mathematics33%-5 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy27%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Independent Study Sojourner Truth

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)								% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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 ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	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 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Independent Study Sojourner Truth	Public, Alternative	K-12	8251 Fontaine St.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-5330	481	36	13.4	97.3%	119 (24.7%)	135 (28.1%)	140 (29.1%)	30 (6.2%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	51 (10.6%)								(n/a)	15.0	31.0	50.0	50.0	39.0	8.7	18.8	19.1	20.8	30.4	30.6	46.7	26.6	4.6	18.8	4.8	33.3	42.9	34.3	74.1	32.5							$25,126	$4,633	$20,493
Lodestar: A Lighthouse Community Charter Public	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	701 105th Ave.	Oakland	94603	Alameda County	Lodestar: A Lighthouse Community Charter Public District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 775-0255	723	49	14.7	96.7%	1 (0.1%)	77 (10.7%)	606 (83.8%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.8%)	27 (3.7%)								(n/a)	6.1	22.5	16.1		15.9	15.1	11.1	6.1	14.3	27.4	43.7	30.7	22.7	41.5	22.2	10.2	5.4	17.8	53.5	12.9	24.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	$25,278	$1,725	$23,553
San Leandro Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	13701 Bancroft Ave	San Leandro	94578	Alameda County	San Leandro Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(510) 618-4460	102	6	17.7	80.4%	13 (12.7%)	12 (11.8%)	49 (48.0%)	14 (13.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	13 (12.7%)								(n/a)	18.2	8.3	21.7	33.3	20.7			45.5			0.0	25.0	28.6			0.0			0.0	25.0	15.7							$17,168	$10,589	$6,579
Alameda County Juvenile Hall/Court	Public, Alternative	K-12	2500 Fairmont Ave.	San Leandro	94578	Alameda County	Alameda County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 670-7609	56	8	6.7	94.6%	3 (5.4%)	29 (51.8%)	23 (41.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)								(n/a)																												$105,130	$28,030	$77,100
Castro Valley Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	18400 Clifton Way	Castro Valley	94546	Alameda County	Castro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(510) 537-3193	45	4	12.4	40.0%	11 (24.4%)	2 (4.4%)	13 (28.9%)	10 (22.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (20.0%)								(n/a)				20.0	20.0							72.7	72.7							36.4	36.4							$15,661	$101	$15,560
Nea Community Learning Center	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1900 Third St.	Alameda	94501	Alameda County	Nea Community Learning Center District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 748-4008	479	23	21.2	32.2%	115 (24.0%)	64 (13.4%)	135 (28.2%)	76 (15.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (18.0%)								(n/a)	48.9	30.4			41.9	50.0	52.1	57.5	40.0	35.1	13.6		44.8	62.0	39.6	17.0	20.0	16.2	21.7		31.7							$15,967	$715	$15,252
Alameda County Community	Public, Alternative	K-12	313 West Winton Ave.	Hayward	94544	Alameda County	Alameda County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 670-4590	73	5	13.8	58.9%	2 (2.7%)	8 (11.0%)	55 (75.3%)	5 (6.8%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)								(n/a)		0.0			0.0						7.1	9.1	7.1						0.0		0.0							$101,571	$31,752	$69,819
Home and Hospital Program	Public, Alternative	K-12	915 54th St.	Oakland	94608	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-5003	3	1	3.0		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																												$13,791	$2,840	$10,951
Hayward Twin Oaks Montessori	Public, Charter, Alternative	1-12	951 Palisade St.	Hayward	94542	Alameda County	Hayward Twin Oaks Montessori District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 370-3334	643	18	34.9	37.9%	94 (14.6%)	23 (3.6%)	297 (46.2%)	91 (14.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	131 (20.4%)								(n/a)	28.9	30.0		20.0	26.9	40.0	41.7	37.8	50.0	47.6	38.3	33.3	41.5	44.4	35.4	24.4	40.0	34.9	31.7	7.1	31.9							$15,892	$1,422	$14,470
Central County Special Education Programs	Public, Alternative	K-12	2964 Miranda Ave.	Alamo	94507	Contra Costa County	Contra Costa County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 837-6007	15	2	7.5	20.0%	1 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (53.3%)	6 (40.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Independent Study Sojourner Truth

How many students attend Independent Study Sojourner Truth?

In the 2024-25 school year, 481 students attended Independent Study Sojourner Truth.

Is Independent Study Sojourner Truth a good school?

Independent Study Sojourner Truth ranks in the bottom 9.3% of California alternative schools.

What is the racial makeup of Independent Study Sojourner Truth?

Students at Independent Study Sojourner Truth are 29% Hispanic, 28% African American, 25% White, 11% Two or more races, 6% Asian.

What district is Independent Study Sojourner Truth in?

Oakland 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.