River Valley High School

Yuba City · Sutter County · Yuba City Unified
Public Sutter County 🏛 Yuba City Unified → ~391 seniors CDS 5171464…
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Most similar nearby schools

Yuba City High School → Lindhurst High School → Marysville High School → Sutter Peak Charter Academy → Wheatland Union High → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,820 (2018)1,705 (2026)
-6.3%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
417 (2018)382 (2026)
-8.4%

If this trend holds (-0.8%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,691 -14 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,664 -41 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,637 -68 $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 Sutter County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Critical
Bleeding from both ends.

Enrollment down 8.4% vs. county -1.2%, AND stability (81.6%) below the county median. Fewer families are choosing the school, and the ones who do aren't staying through year-end.

-8.4%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-1.2%  Sutter County baseline
-7.2pp  gap vs. county
81.6%  retention (county median 87.5%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
81.6%
1,510 of 1,850 students

340 of 1,850 students who enrolled at River Valley High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (18.4% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Sutter County median
87.5% · school is in the 29th percentile of 7 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 33rd percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (1,342) 78.9%
Hispanic / Latino (775) 79.6%
Asian (587) 84.7%
White (309) 80.3%
English learners (246) 62.6%
Students w/ disabilities (201) 79.1%

Nearest peer high schools

Yuba City High School 83.3% Lindhurst High School 81.3% Marysville High School 83.3% Sutter Peak Charter Academy 87.5% Wheatland Union High 88.4%

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
17.1%
306 of 1,792 students

Absenteeism is in the typical CA HS range. Worth monitoring alongside the demand and retention signals above.

Sutter County median
17.1% · school is worse than 43% 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 = 355
55.2%
incl. 22.2% exceeded
On the Sutter County median (55.2%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 360
16.4%
incl. 6.4% exceeded
On the Sutter County median (16.6%) · 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

Hispanic / Latino 40% -1.7
Asian 33% +1.1
White 17%
Two or more 5%
Black / African Am. 2%
Not reported 2% +1.0
Filipino 1%
American Indian 0%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 80% +19.0
Socioeconomically disadv. 10% -1.0
English learners 10%
Homeless 1%

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 — Yuba City 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
$195.3M
+15.4% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$16,288
11,993 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 65.8%
Local: 21.5%
Federal: 12.7%
Instruction share
59.1%
of current spending · $7,802/pupil
Long-term debt
$58.6M
-14.8% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Yuba City 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
11%
43 admits / 391 seniors
On the peer median (11.6%) · Ranked #5 of 8 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 13.5% 2025 · 11.0%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
11.6%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
11.0%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 11.0%

Higher than 23% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

River Valley High School's UC Reach of 11.0% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, River Valley High School's UC Reach is higher than 23% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
47.3%
185 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 25% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
23.2%
43 / 185 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 34% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
20.9%
9 enrolled of 43 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
2.3%
9 enrollees / 391 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
284:1
6.0 FTE counselors · 1,705 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 54 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
44%
146 of 334 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -12.2 pp vs. median · Sutter Co. 40.7%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
88%
68% finished in 4 yrs · N=25 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6%.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
6.6
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 8% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
1.8
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 20% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
391
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,695
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.08
55th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

River Valley High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Yuba City · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, River Valley High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #5 of 8): 11% vs. a peer median of 12%.
  • Its UC Reach has held roughly steady since 2018.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, River Valley High School is admitting at roughly +8 percentage points above what its average applicant GPA (3.872) alone would predict (31% actual vs. 24% expected). That's a meaningful signal — it can reflect UC's track record with this school's graduates, students presenting strongly in UC's holistic review (essays, EC's, context), or institutional familiarity helping at the margin. The data can't distinguish which, but the pattern itself is real and worth understanding.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 8% (417→382 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of +17%.
  • At its recent rate (-0.8%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1664 by 2029 — about 41 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1705 students (2026)
~1664 projected (2029)
at -0.8%/yr

That's about 41 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
River Valley High School Public 1705 11.0% -8%
Peer-group median 11.6% +17%
Yuba City High School Public 1605 11.6% +5%
Lindhurst High School Public 1296 7.1% +14%
Marysville High School Public 972 5.8% +26%
Sutter Peak Charter Academy Public 804 +115%
Wheatland Union High Public 1185 +90%
Sutter High School Public 733 4.4% -13%
Las Plumas High School Public 1271 13.6% +13%
John Adams Academy - Lincoln Public 1390 +14%
Live Oak High School Public 598 32.9% +20%
Twelve Bridges High School Public 1377 14.8% +28%

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
3.87
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.21

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 Berkeley 3.88 19.4% 11.6% +7.8pp Over
UC San Diego 3.92 33.3% 21.7% +11.6pp Over
UC Santa Barbara 3.89 37.0% 28.3% +8.7pp Over
UC Davis 3.83 36.2% 32.1% +4.1pp On target
"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 River Valley High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 7.5 points above what their GPAs predict (31.4% actual vs. 23.9% 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 36 7 4 19.4% 1.8% 57.1% 3.88 4.20
UCLA → Elite 29 3.90
UC San Diego → Selective 27 9 33.3% 2.3% 3.92 4.26
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 27 10 37.0% 2.6% 3.89 4.25
UC Irvine → Selective 19 3.79
UC Davis → 47 17 5 36.2% 4.3% 29.4% 3.83 4.17
⚠ 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

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.
A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
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.
Students are earning UC admission but enrolling elsewhere at a notable rate. This may reflect competition from private colleges, out-of-state flagships, cost considerations, or UC campus fit. Student outcome surveys can clarify.
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 Sutter County rankings →

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