Nevada Union High School

Grass Valley · Nevada County · Nevada Joint Union High
Public Nevada County 🏛 Nevada Joint Union High → ~350 seniors CDS 2966357…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

John Muir Charter → Placer High School → Del Oro High School → Colfax High School → Bear River High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,546 (2018)1,592 (2026)
+3.0%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
371 (2018)387 (2026)
+4.3%

If this trend holds (+0.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,598 +6 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,610 +18 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,621 +29 $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 Nevada County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Healthy
Best in class — winning on demand and retention.

Nevada Union High School outperformed Nevada County on enrollment (school +4.3% vs. county -40.8%) AND maintains 88.3% stability. Replicable model — worth documenting what's working. Chronic absenteeism is rising (27.9%, +-36.1 pts since 2016-17) — a watch signal worth monitoring as a leading indicator.

+4.3%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-40.8%  Nevada County baseline
+45.1pp  gap vs. county
88.3%  retention (county median 81.9%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
88.3%
1,459 of 1,652 students

193 of 1,652 students who enrolled at Nevada Union High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (11.7% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Nevada County median
81.9% · school is in the 75th percentile of 8 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 56th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

White (1,152) 89.3%
Socio. disadvantaged (694) 83.3%
Hispanic / Latino (318) 87.7%
Students w/ disabilities (272) 87.1%
Two or more races (125) 87.2%
English learners (25) 72.0%

Nearest peer high schools

John Muir Charter 23.8% Placer High School 91.0% Del Oro High School 92.5% Colfax High School 92.3% Bear River High School 92.4%

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
27.9%
448 of 1,608 students

Absenteeism is down 36.1 pp since 2016-17. Engagement improving — a positive trajectory worth understanding and reinforcing.

Nevada County median
22.0% · school is worse than 57% of 7 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

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 = 351
60.1%
incl. 33.6% exceeded
+8.8 pts above Nevada County median (51.3%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 353
32.0%
incl. 15.3% exceeded
+12.0 pts above Nevada County median (20.0%) · 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 70%
Hispanic / Latino 19% -1.7
Two or more 8% +1.3
Asian 1%
Black / African Am. 1%
American Indian 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 38% -2.4
Socioeconomically disadv. 16%
Homeless 1% -1.5

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 — Nevada Joint Union High (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
$51.0M
+5.0% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$20,472
2,492 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 25.5%
Local: 67.7%
Federal: 6.8%
Instruction share
51.2%
of current spending · $9,129/pupil
Long-term debt
$51.4M
+101.0% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Nevada Joint Union High 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
5%
16 admits / 350 seniors
-7.0 pp vs. peer median (11.6%) · Ranked #7 of 8 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 7.6% 2025 · 4.6%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
11.6%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
4.6%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 4.6%

Higher than 3% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Nevada Union High School's UC Reach of 4.6% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, Nevada Union High School's UC Reach is higher than 3% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
31.7%
111 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 10% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
14.4%
16 / 111 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 1% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
N/A
None enrolled of 16 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 / 350 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
398:1
4.0 FTE counselors · 1,592 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 60 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
27%
81 of 299 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -28.8 pp vs. median · Nevada Co. 29.5%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
95%
86% finished in 4 yrs · N=21 entered 2017
In context: CA median 87.5% · +7.7 pp above.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
3.1
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 1% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
350
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,561
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.88
36th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Nevada Union High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Grass Valley · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Nevada Union High School sits near the bottom of its similar-school group (ranked #7 of 8): 5% vs. a peer median of 12%.
  • Its UC Reach has slipped 7 points since 2018 — worth watching.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 4% (371→387 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of +1%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+0.4%/yr); projects to ~1610 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

1592 students (2026)
~1610 projected (2029)
at +0.4%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Nevada Union High School Public 1592 4.6% +4%
Peer-group median 11.6% +1%
John Muir Charter Public 543 -90%
Placer High School Public 1239 10.4% -3%
Del Oro High School Public 1636 15.4% -11%
Colfax High School Public 602 26.1% -4%
Bear River High School Public 653 4.6% -15%
Yuba City High School Public 1605 11.6% +5%
Lindhurst High School Public 1296 7.1% +14%
John Adams Academy - Lincoln Public 1390 +14%
Twelve Bridges High School Public 1377 14.8% +28%
Wheatland Union High Public 1185 +90%

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
3.94
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.16

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 San Diego 3.98 14.3% 20.4% -6.2pp Under
UC Santa Barbara 3.93 36.4% 29.4% +6.9pp Over
UC Davis 3.93 20.8% 32.4% -11.6pp Under
"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.

Where Nevada Union High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (23.9% actual vs. 27.7% expected).

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 19 3.91
UCLA → Elite 14 3.96
UC San Diego → Selective 21 3 14.3% 0.9% 3.98
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 22 8 36.4% 2.3% 3.93 4.18
UC Irvine → Selective 11 3.95
UC Davis → 24 5 20.8% 1.4% 3.93 4.12
⚠ 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 Nevada County rankings →

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