Quincy Junior/senior High, Quincy CA

Original Research by School Decision on Quincy Junior/senior High

Quincy Junior/Senior High serves grades seven through twelve in Quincy, the county seat of Plumas County in the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is a small school with a stable enrollment, serving the academic and social needs of a rural mountain community.

The school's recent state assessment results show substantial academic challenges. In 2024-25, overall proficiency rates across all tested subjects stood at around one in nine for math, roughly one in three for English language arts, and about one in five for science. These rates reflect significant gaps in core content mastery. The math proficiency in particular, in the low teens overall across grades seven and eight, suggests that many students are struggling with foundational numeracy and problem-solving skills. Reading and writing competency, measured by ELA proficiency, is somewhat stronger but still well below what most parents would regard as grade-level readiness. The science results fall between those two poles. State assessment data prior to 2024-25 was not available, so trend comparison is not possible; a parent concerned about academic momentum would want to ask the school about whether these results represent a change or a steady state, and what interventions are underway.

The school's enrollment of around three hundred students breaks fairly evenly across the six grades, with slightly more students in the upper grades. About half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a proxy for economic need. The student population is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students identifying as multiracial, Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Black. Data on English learner enrollment and students with disabilities was not available in the public record, so a parent with questions about how the school serves those populations should ask directly.

Quincy itself is a small, slow-growing town, the economic heart of a county experiencing modest population decline. The town centers on a historic, walkable Main Street lined with shops, galleries, and community anchors like the courthouse and museum. A local community college sits on a hilltop campus just outside town. The area's employers include county government, the district hospital, the college, and a forest-products company; the economy rests on public sector and resource-based work. Housing in the area is modestly priced relative to California statewide, though new development now carries countywide school-impact fees enacted in late 2024. The region remains marked by the 2021 Dixie Fire, which destroyed the nearby town of Greenville and displaced some school facilities; rebuilding is ongoing and some families still navigate education access disrupted by that event.

The school sits in the context of a small unified district serving the entire county. Plumas Unified has limited comparison peers; only a handful of other districts serve the county, so gauging academic standing requires looking beyond immediate neighbors. State assessment data does not provide a proficiency index for this school relative to other county districts because the comparison group is too small. The school's graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were not available in the public record; a parent considering enrollment should ask about both, as they speak to student persistence and engagement.

For families drawn to small-town life, outdoor access, and close-knit community, Quincy holds genuine appeal. For families whose priority is strong, measured academic achievement in core subjects, the assessment results warrant serious conversation with the school about what support exists for students falling below grade level, what the trajectory looks like, and how the school works with families on skill gaps. The math proficiency in particular deserves direct inquiry: is the school able to diagnose specific skill deficits and provide targeted intervention, and are there summer or after-school options for students needing extra practice?

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 41 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 714%

School 14% · District 17% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 13% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 32% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 32% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 18% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 61% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median

This schoolPlumas 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 7Lower-income22%Higher-income29%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income20%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income6%Higher-income21%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income15%1 pp gap