Modoc Middle, Alturas CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Modoc Middle

Modoc Middle serves sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in Alturas, a rural county seat in far northeastern California. The school sits in a tight-knit region where the town and Modoc County function nearly as one community. Housing in the area is affordable relative to state benchmarks, and the local economy centers on health care, public administration, and agriculture, with tourism and ranching woven into daily life.

The school's most recent state test results show material challenges in mathematics. Across grades six through eight, proficiency in math ranges from the mid-teens to just under one-fifth of students. English language arts performance is higher, ranging from the upper thirties to mid-forties across grades. A single recent science assessment for eighth grade shows proficiency at about one-fifth of students. The school's older social studies data, from over a decade ago, reported proficiency somewhat above these current levels.

Math proficiency warrants particular attention. A parent considering this school should ask directly how the school approaches math instruction and what support structures exist for students struggling in the subject. The gap between ELA and math performance is pronounced enough that understanding why, and what if anything is being done about it, makes sense before enrollment.

English language arts is stronger. While not high in absolute terms, the rate of students meeting grade-level standards in ELA runs well above math, suggesting the school has somewhat steadier footing there.

The school enrolls a small population of about two hundred students spread across the three middle grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with representation from Hispanic, American Indian Alaska Native, and other groups. Data on English learners and students receiving special education services were not available.

Alturas itself is a small agricultural town with a rural, Western character where horses, outdoor sports, and community ties are part of everyday life. The downtown has a modest walkable core with antique shops, restaurants, the county courthouse, and the Niles Theater. Most daily life is car-oriented. The town has been losing population gradually over recent years; housing stock tends to be older and modest in cost. Civic life centers on the library, county museum, and local parks, while regional employers like Modoc Medical Center anchor the broader economy.

The comparison group for this school consists of the four districts in Modoc County, but the small number of schools in that universe means formal comparisons on standard metrics were not computed. State testing data is the main academic measure available for this school; data on chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, discipline, attendance, course offerings, and staffing were not provided. The district itself made no major recent changes available through public reporting, so the longer-term direction and strategic priorities of Modoc Joint Unified remain unclear from the data at hand.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 13 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 43% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44% · ▲ 1 pts above district

even with state median

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 56% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

This schoolModoc Joint Unified, 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-income29%Higher-income52%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income64%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income67%33 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income29%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income23%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income8%Higher-income28%20 pp gap