Argonaut High School

Jackson · Amador County · Amador County Unified
Public Amador County 🏛 Amador County Unified → ~132 seniors CDS 0373981…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Amador High School → Calaveras High School → Bret Harte Union High School → Sky Mountain Charter School → Linden High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
475 (2018)576 (2026)
+21.3%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
124 (2018)111 (2026)
-10.5%

If this trend holds (+2.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~590 +14 $0
3 yr (2029) ~619 +43 $0
5 yr (2031) ~650 +74 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Amador County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Action needed
Demand declining faster than county; retention only average.

Enrollment is shrinking 2.8× the county rate (school -10.5% vs. county -3.7%) with stability (86.1%) near the county median. Two problems compounding — the recruitment side is the higher-leverage starting point. Chronic absenteeism is also at 31.2% (up +18.3 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.

-10.5%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-3.7%  Amador County baseline
-6.8pp  gap vs. county
86.1%  retention (county median 86.3%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate
86.1%
540 of 627 students

87 of 627 students who enrolled at Argonaut High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (13.9% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Amador County median
86.3% · school is in the 50th percentile of 2 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 46th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

White (381) 87.4%
Socio. disadvantaged (237) 80.6%
Hispanic / Latino (170) 82.9%
Students w/ disabilities (139) 78.4%
Two or more races (40) 90.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Amador High School 86.5% Calaveras High School 82.5% Bret Harte Union High School 90.7% Sky Mountain Charter School 89.7% Linden High School 93.6%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
31.2%
190 of 609 students

Absenteeism is up 18.3 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Amador County median
29.6% · school is worse than 50% of 2 HS
Statewide median
22.9%

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 107
50.5%
incl. 17.8% exceeded
-6.3 pts vs. Amador County median (56.8%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 107
14.9%
incl. 7.5% exceeded
On the Amador County median (15.7%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

White 63% +4.4
Hispanic / Latino 24% -4.5
Two or more 7% +2.2
American Indian 2%
Asian 1%
Filipino 1%
Black / African Am. 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 37% -2.4
Socioeconomically disadv. 21% -4.2

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

District financial profile — Amador County Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$52.9M
+14.4% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$13,608
3,889 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 29.2%
Local: 59.6%
Federal: 11.2%
Instruction share
52.8%
of current spending · $6,370/pupil
Long-term debt
$10.6M
+17.5% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Amador County Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
7%
9 admits / 132 seniors
On the peer median (5.9%) · Ranked #5 of 10 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 7.0% 2025 · 6.8%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
5.9%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
6.8%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 6.8%

Higher than 8% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Argonaut High School's UC Reach of 6.8% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, Argonaut High School's UC Reach is higher than 8% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
33.3%
44 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 12% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
20.5%
9 / 44 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 18% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
N/A
None enrolled of 9 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach
N/A
None enrollees / 132 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
230:1
2.5 FTE counselors · 576 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 108 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
32%
40 of 123 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -23.4 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
2.3
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 0% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
132
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
593
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.99
46th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Argonaut High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Jackson · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Argonaut High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #5 of 10): 7% vs. a peer median of 6%.
  • Its UC Reach has held roughly steady since 2018.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 10% (124→111 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of -4%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+2.4%/yr); projects to ~619 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

576 students (2026)
~619 projected (2029)
at +2.4%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Argonaut High School Public 576 6.8% -10%
Peer-group median 5.9% -4%
Amador High School Public 581 5.9% +2%
Calaveras High School Public 667 3.2% -35%
Bret Harte Union High School Public 572 3.1% -18%
Sky Mountain Charter School Public 621 3.4% +16%
Linden High School Public 774 7.3% +21%
Union Mine High School Public 1029 7.2% -0%
Liberty Ranch High School Public 947 5.6% -22%
Aspire Benjamin Holt College Preparatory Academy Public 698 +129%
Galt High School Public 972 7.2% -8%
El Dorado High Public 1085 9.7% -7%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
4.06
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.18

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA?

Campus Applicant GPA (avg) Actual admit rate CA peer avg Δ Verdict
UC Santa Barbara 4.12 37.5% 40.5% -3.0pp On target
UC Davis 3.93 50.0% 32.4% +17.6pp Over
"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach % (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 7 4.10
UCLA → Elite 8 4.18
UC San Diego → Selective 9 4.03
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 8 3 37.5% 2.3% 4.12
UC Davis → 12 6 50.0% 4.5% 3.93 4.18
⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

Fewer than 15% of seniors are earning UC admission. This may reflect a high non-UC college-going rate, significant A-G completion gaps, or an early-stage UC pipeline. A deeper review of A-G readiness and counseling capacity is warranted.
UC Reach has declined meaningfully year-over-year. This should be reviewed in context of applicant volume, GPA trends, course rigor changes, and peer-school performance before drawing conclusions.
Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.
Compare with other schools → See Amador County rankings →

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