University Preparatory, Redding CA

Original Research by School Decision on University Preparatory

University Preparatory is a charter school serving grades six through twelve in Redding, California. The school educates a broad enrollment that is majority white, with a Hispanic student body making up about one in eight students, and smaller shares of Asian students and students of two or more races. About one in three students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in the moderate range for economic need in its region.

The school's academic profile shows strength in English language arts, where proficiency across all tested grades averages in the upper range. Students demonstrate solid command of reading and writing skills across the middle and early high school years. Mathematics proficiency is more modest, averaging around the midpoint, with performance trending upward slightly in eighth grade but starting lower in sixth. Science proficiency is below the ELA level but aligned with the overall math trend. Across all three subjects, the school's combined proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Shasta County, a meaningful position that reflects generally solid foundational academics relative to regional peers.

Enrollment stands at just over one thousand students distributed fairly evenly across grades six through twelve, with a small gradual decline in numbers in the upper grades. This size is typical for a comprehensive middle and high school in a mid-sized regional city.

University Preparatory sits on a campus campus west of downtown Redding on Eureka Way, near where the Shasta Union High School District maintains its offices. The school is one of three major public secondary schools serving the Redding area; the others are Shasta High and Enterprise High, each on separate campuses. The city itself is in active growth and recovery mode following the Carr Fire, with new housing subdivisions spreading outward and downtown experiencing mixed-use redevelopment. Healthcare is the largest employment sector in Redding, anchored by two hospitals; Sierra Pacific Industries, Shasta College, and Simpson University are also major employers. The riverfront, anchored by Turtle Bay and the Sundial Bridge, is a defining civic anchor. Downtown Redding has undergone revitalization in recent years, centered on a walkable Market Street core with restaurants, shops, art, and regular community events, though the wider city remains car-oriented and highway-shaped.

State testing data and enrollment are current as of the 2024-25 school year. Graduation rate data, chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment rates, and English learner enrollment rates were not available, as was information on district-level strategic direction and recent policy changes. A parent or resident weighing this school would have reason to look further into the school's college-prep pathways, course breadth at the high school level, student support services, and attendance patterns, as these details fall outside the provided data.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 109 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 651%

School 51% · district not reported

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · district not reported

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 673%

School 73% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 777%

School 77% · district not reported

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Science

Grade 856%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income78%Higher-income70%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income70%Higher-income82%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income68%Higher-income85%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income58%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income63%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income68%20 pp gap