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What do students at Thomas Downey High actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,192
High
DISTRICT 1,917 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MODESTO CITY HIGH·NCES 062515003753
Thomas Downey High
1000 Coffee Rd., Modesto, CA 95355 · (209) 574-1685 · Stanislaus County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,192 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
23.9:1
92 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
76%
1,666 students
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 563 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 515 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 610 | 28% |
| Grade 12 | 504 | 23% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
47.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -10.1pp since 2014
Math
20.5%
CA avg 37.7% . -1.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 1 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 21.1% | 26.9% | 24.5% | 27.6% |
| Math | 7.8% | 12.7% | 19.1% | 60.4% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 47.9% | 20.5% |
| 2023-24 | 46.6% | 16.4% |
| 2022-23 | 32.8% | 12.4% |
| 2021-22 | 30.1% | 8.0% |
| 2020-21 | 41.5% | 14.8% |
| 2018-19 | 51.3% | 20.1% |
| 2017-18 | 48.9% | 23.6% |
| 2016-17 | 57.1% | 21.0% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 20.0% |
| 2014-15 | 58.0% | 22.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Thomas Downey High
Thomas Downey High's state test result (32.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Downey High this school | 2,192 | 76.0% | 32.9% |
| Salinas High Salinas | 2,380 | 77.5% | 50.2% |
| La Quinta High La Quinta | 2,425 | 74.4% | 45.6% |
| San Pasqual High Escondido | 1,846 | 73.2% | 46.6% |
| Elsinore High Wildomar | 1,927 | 77.7% | 34.9% |
| Fallbrook High Fallbrook | 1,853 | 71.8% | 41.4% |
Matched among California high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Thomas Downey High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Stanislaus County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.9% | #714 of 1,052 | #12 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.5% | #658 of 1,056 ▲ 59 | #11 of 18 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.9% | #745 of 1,056 ▼ 13 | #11 of 18 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +15.2pp | #38 of 1,044 | #1 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,192 | #190 of 2,093 | #6 of 36 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.9:1 | #1,097 of 1,352 | #19 of 20 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.2% | #708 of 1,351 | #11 of 20 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.0% | #724 of 1,575 | #13 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.5% | #216 of 327 | #7 of 9 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,192
+51 (+2%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 2,444
Student : Teacher
23.9:1
was 25.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,192 | 91.8 | 23.9:1 | 76% (1,666) |
| 2023-24 | 2,055 | 92.5 | 22.2:1 | 72% (1,485) |
| 2022-23 | 2,145 | 89.1 | 24.1:1 | 77% (1,641) |
| 2020-21 | 2,141 | 85 | 25.2:1 | 72% (1,550) |
| 2017-18 | 2,098 | 85.3 | 24.6:1 | 73% (1,530) |
| 2015-16 | 2,026 | 79 | 25.6:1 | 69% (1,394) |
| 2010-11 | 2,000 | N/A | N/A | 62% (1,230) |
| 2000-01 | 2,379 | 98 | 24.3:1 | 31% (732) |
| 1990-91 | 2,444 | 98 | 24.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Downey High.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (2,098 to 2,192); teachers up 8% (85.3 to 91.8).
About Thomas Downey High
Thomas Downey High is a public high school in Modesto, California. It teaches 2,192 students in grades 9 through 12. It has 162% more students than the average for high schools in California (about 838).
The district, Modesto City High, operates 8 schools serving 15,334 students.
About 69% of the student body at Thomas Downey High is Hispanic. Other groups include 18% White, 8% multiracial, and 2% Asian. By comparison, Stanislaus County residents are about 50% Hispanic. A diversity index of 48% means there is a 48% chance two randomly chosen students at Thomas Downey High are from different groups.
For every teacher at Thomas Downey High, there are about 23.9 students; the school has 91.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 18.2:1 average for high schools in California, this school's ratio is higher. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 76%.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Thomas Downey High falls in the middle 80% of California schools: 32.9% actual against 35.0% predicted.
In Stanislaus County, home to about 553,990 people, the median household earns about $81,468 a year, roughly 20% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. Thomas Downey High shares Stanislaus County with 189 other public schools.
John Muir Elementary sits about 0.3 miles from Thomas Downey High. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Thomas Downey High is 2nd on average proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Thomas Downey High inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (City: Mid-size).
Thomas Downey High had 2,141 students in 2020-21 and 2,192 in 2024-25, nearly the same. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 25.2:1 to 23.9:1.
The allk12 page for Thomas Downey High lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
Stanislaus County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
553,990
Census ACS
Median income
$81,468
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
190
106,477 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Modesto City High
- Joseph A. Gregori HighHigh · 2,346 students
- James C. Enochs HighHigh · 2,304 students
- Modesto HighHigh · 2,292 students
- Grace M. Davis HighHigh · 2,083 students
- Peter Johansen HighHigh · 2,029 students
- Fred C. Beyer HighHigh · 1,609 students
Other schools in Modesto
- Joseph A. Gregori HighHigh · 2,346 students
- James C. Enochs HighHigh · 2,304 students
- Modesto HighHigh · 2,292 students
- Grace M. Davis HighHigh · 2,083 students
- Peter Johansen HighHigh · 2,029 students
- Fred C. Beyer HighHigh · 1,609 students
Nearby schools
- John Muir Elementary0.3 mi · 567
- Rose Avenue Elementary0.5 mi · 561
- Robert Elliott Alternative Education Center0.7 mi · 479
- La Loma Junior High1.0 mi · 705
- Coleman F. Brown Elementary1.1 mi · 378
- Wilson Elementary1.2 mi · 283
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas Downey HighWhat is the total enrollment at Thomas Downey High?
Thomas Downey High enrolls approximately 2,192 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Thomas Downey High serve?
Thomas Downey High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Downey High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thomas Downey High is approximately 23.9:1 (92 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Thomas Downey High?
Thomas Downey High reports a student body of 18% White, 69% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees Thomas Downey High?
Thomas Downey High is overseen by Modesto City High in Stanislaus County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.