Trico CUSD 176

Trico CUSD 176 has three schools serving prekindergarten through 12th grade, with 879 students across Trico Elementary, Trico Junior High, and Trico Senior High. The clearest academic strength is junior-high ELA: its 2025–2026 IAR result was 63%, compared with 56% statewide, while elementary ELA was 53%, 3 points below the state. Math is the most consistent concern: all-grades IAR math was 28% at Elementary and 25% at Junior High, respectively 12 and 14 points below the state’s 40%.

Trico Junior High stands out in ELA, with 6th- and 7th-grade results 7 and 6 points above their state comparisons; however, its 8th-grade result was 4 points below. Positive science results also appear at two different schools: Trico Senior High had 60% proficiency in 9th-grade PreACT science, 13 points above the state, and Trico Elementary had 52% in 5th-grade science, 5 points above. Math is weakest in Elementary’s 5th grade, where 16% proficiency was 20 points below the state. Senior High’s 11th-grade graduation rate was 83%, 7 points below the state’s 90%.

ELA has improved more clearly than math: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, all-grades ELA rose 8 points at Elementary and 4 at Junior High, while math rose just 2 and 1 points. Senior High also made gains, including 12 points in 9th-grade ELA and 17 in 9th-grade science, though several high-school results remain below state levels. SchoolDigger rated all three schools two stars and the district one star. For context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 68% at Elementary, 58% at Junior High, and 56% at Senior High; student-teacher ratios that year ranged from 15.3 at Elementary to 10.4 at Senior High. These differences are context, not an explanation for achievement.