Summary:
ZIP code 95948 has two high schools serving grades 9–12 in Gridley Unified: Gridley High, a 670-student school, and Esperanza High (Continuation), with 23 students. The most important reported contrast is that Gridley had much stronger graduation and attendance outcomes in 2025–2026: graduation was 99% versus 62% at Esperanza, while chronic absenteeism was 11% versus 89%.
Gridley High stands out in the available 2025–2026 proficiency results: ELA was 78%, 29 percentage points above California, and science was 42%, 6 points above; mathematics was 34%, 4 points below the state. Current test-score figures for Esperanza are suppressed, so the data cannot establish which school has stronger current proficiency. The outcome gap is also clear in dropout rates: 0% at Gridley and 39% at Esperanza, a 39-point difference.
Recent results at Gridley diverged by subject: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, ELA rose 5 points, while math fell 6 points and science fell 2 points. SchoolDigger’s percentile for Gridley declined from 90 to 78 across its three listed years; Esperanza’s rose from 1 to 21, then fell to 10. In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible students made up 71% of Gridley and 83% of Esperanza; student–teacher ratios were 19.3 and 11.3, respectively. These comparisons need context: Esperanza is a very small continuation school, unlike Gridley’s comprehensive high school, and its current test scores are suppressed.
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