Summary
Merced Scholars Charter is an alternative K–12 school with 334 students in Merced, California, in the Merced County Office of Education. In 2025–2026, the school reported a 100% graduation rate, compared with 74% for the district and 88% statewide, and chronic absenteeism of 16%, compared with 45% in the district and 18% statewide. The clearest positive takeaway is that graduation and attendance outcomes are much stronger than the school’s test scores might suggest.
On 2025–2026 all-grades tests, the school scored above the district in English language arts (ELA), math and science, but remained below California in all three. ELA proficiency was 26%, versus 6% in the district and 49% statewide; math was 5%, versus 3% and 38%; and science was 19%, versus 6% and 36%. Science is closest to the state result, while math is furthest behind. Among nearby schools with published all-grades scores, the school was also ahead of Merced County Special Education by 22 points in ELA, 2 points in math and 15 points in science. Merced County Juvenile Court scores are suppressed, and SchoolDigger provides district—not school-specific—rankings and stars, so a complete nearby-school score ranking or school ranking is unavailable.
Results have not consistently improved: from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, ELA fell 4 points and math fell 5, while science rose 3 points; even so, the gap with the state widened in all three subjects. SchoolDigger reports a district rank of 949 out of 968, in the 2nd percentile, with zero stars; those district figures also appear for the nearby schools. The student-teacher ratio is 16.5, above the nearby-school average of 14.0. In 2024–2025, 80% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible, the second-highest share among the nearby schools; the entry also notes California’s statewide free-meals provision, so this is best read as the school’s reported eligibility measure.
Thank you for your feedback!