Williams Junior/senior High, Williams CA

Original Research by School Decision on Williams Junior/senior High

Williams Junior/Senior High is a public school in rural Colusa County, near the Sacramento Valley, serving grades seven through twelve. The school sits in Williams, a small agricultural town with a compact downtown along E Street and grid-like residential blocks, about an hour north of Sacramento with direct freeway access. Most students at the school come from low-income households; a very high share qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is almost entirely Hispanic, with a small number of white and Asian students.

The state assessment results show weak proficiency across subjects. In math, overall proficiency across tested grades sits well below the state standard. English language arts proficiency is higher than math but still below state expectations overall. Science proficiency is particularly low. When compared to other districts in Colusa County, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among county peers. The school has only one year of recent test data available, so longer trends cannot be assessed. A parent may want to look into the school's support resources for students working below grade level in core academics, especially in mathematics.

The school is not small. Enrollment across grades seven through twelve is typical for a consolidated junior-senior high serving a rural town. The distribution is fairly even across grade levels, ranging from about one hundred students per grade in the lower grades to slightly higher in the high school years.

The town of Williams itself has been growing steadily, with new residential subdivisions appearing especially on the east side, attracting families seeking affordability and freeway access for commuting to the Sacramento region. Home prices in the zip code are modest relative to much of California, and most residents own their homes rather than rent. The school sits centrally in town life, on Eleventh Street, rather than isolated on a remote campus.

In November 2024, voters in the Williams Unified School District approved a general obligation bond to fund facility improvements, including renovation of classrooms, upgrades to career technical education spaces, roof repairs, and electrical and plumbing system replacements. This bond will carry a property-tax impact for homeowners in the district, making it a material consideration for families buying into the area. The district had attempted a bond measure in 2020 that did not pass, so the 2024 approval marked the first successful school funding vote in several years.

No information about graduation rates, specific high school course offerings, vocational or dual-enrollment programs, AP courses, special education enrollment, English learner support, or attendance and discipline data was available for this school. A family evaluating the school should contact the school or district directly to learn about these offerings and supports, particularly for students working significantly below grade level in core subjects.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

85-89%Cohort of 82 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 715%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 14 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Science

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 15 pts below state median

This schoolWilliams 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 8Lower-income42%Higher-income36%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income12%Higher-income27%15 pp gap