Shasta County Independent Study

Shasta County Independent Study is a small, alternative public high school serving grades 6-12 in Redding, CA, with about 102 students, operated by the Shasta County Office of Education for students seeking a flexible, personalized learning plan outside a traditional classroom.

This school serves a high-need population and faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom quarter of California schools with very low proficiency rates in English (30%) and especially math (7.5%). Key concerns include a high chronic absenteeism rate (36.2%) and a student-teacher ratio (25:1) that is higher than most nearby traditional high schools like Shasta High or Central Valley High. Its performance is volatile, with graduation rates fluctuating dramatically from year to year, and its per-student spending is lower than other local alternative programs.

When compared to other schools, it performs better than some alternative schools in the area, such as Pioneer Continuation High or Mountain Lakes High, but lags far behind high-performing charters like Shasta Charter Academy and elite schools like University Preparatory. This highlights a spectrum of outcomes in alternative education, suggesting the independent study model here faces systemic challenges within its district but may offer a different structure for students who have not succeeded in other settings.