Schools · Palmdale
Palmdale, CA schools
Palmdale’s public schools score well below California’s averages: 15% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 79% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%. Kids attend one of 21 schools through grade 8, then Hillview Middle or Palmdale Learning Plaza or Desert Rose Elementary and Highland High or William J. (Pete) Knight High or Palmdale High.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
C+
Palmdale’s School Grade: C+
The public schools Palmdale’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 63% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
DTest scoresC-Graduation
California school districts we grade (1,139)Better than 37%
Lower resultsHigher results
California towns with similar household incomes (549)Better than 22%
Lower confidence. Built on 41 tested students and a graduating class of 5,114. With numbers this small, one year can move the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on California’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of California only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in California with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Palmdale kids go to school
Grades K–8
21 schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Westside Union Elementary School DistrictGrades 8
C-Hillview Middle or Palmdale Learning Plaza or Desert Rose Elementary
Depends on your address Westside Union Elementary School DistrictGrades 9–12
Highland High or William J. (Pete) Knight High or Palmdale High
Depends on your address Antelope Valley Union Joint High School DistrictBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading (grades K–8, Westside Union Elementary)15%
State average 48.5%
Math (grades K–8, Westside Union Elementary)15%
State average 33.4%
Graduation · class of 2020
79% graduate on time
Graduation rate
79%
CA: 87.6%
Graduating class
5,114
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #666 of 720 CA towns →
Districts
Three districts serve Palmdale
Antelope Valley Union Joint High School DistrictGrades 6–12 · 13 schools · 21,202 students
$17,509 per studentCA $21,206C+Palmdale Elementary School DistrictGrades K–12 · 29 schools · 17,941 students
$19,891 per studentCA $21,206Westside Union Elementary School DistrictGrades K–8 · 12 schools · 9,078 students
$14,593 per studentCA $21,206DEach district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 43 schools in Palmdale
Showing 1–30 of 43 schools
Los Amigos - Dual ImmersionElementary · Grades K–8 · 1,027 students
PublicEsperanza ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 962 students
PublicGregg Anderson AcademyElementary · Grades K–6 · 893 students
CPublicRancho Vista ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 886 students
PublicPalmdale Learning PlazaElementary · Grades K–8 · 800 students
PublicTamarisk ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 664 students
PublicCottonwood ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 652 students
PublicManzanita ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 644 students
PublicBarrel Springs ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 627 students
PublicDesert Rose ElementaryElementary · Grades K–8 · 614 students
PublicChaparral Prep AcademyElementary · Grades K–5 · 594 students
PublicMesquite ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 582 students
PublicJoshua Hills ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 581 students
PublicBuena Vista ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 573 students
PublicSummerwind ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 569 students
PublicPalm Tree ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 564 students
PublicGolden Poppy ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 525 students
PublicAnaverde HillsElementary · Grades K–6 · 517 students
PublicQuail Valley ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 503 students
PublicTumbleweed ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 502 students
PublicCimarron ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 497 students
PublicYucca ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 495 students
PublicInnovations Academy of PalmdaleElementary · Grades K–8 · 409 students
PublicOak Tree Community DayElementary · Grades K–8 · 63 students
PublicYellen Learning CenterElementary · Grades K–8 · 58 students
PublicHillview MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 1,100 students
C-PublicDavid G. Millen Law and Government Magnet AcademyMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 952 students
PublicDesert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Tech Magnet AcadMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 948 students
PublicCactus Medical Health and Technology Magnet AcademyMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 822 students
PublicShadow Hills Engineering and Design Magnet AcademyMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 813 students
PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.