ExploreMapCompareBlogSign in
School Profile · Apple Valley

Academy for Academic Excellence: The score is strong. The trajectory is stronger.

Academy for Academic Excellence pairs 48% proficiency with gains that hold up when the same students are tracked two years apart — the rare school that posts both.

17500 Mana Road, 92307 (opens in new tab)·Apple Valley Unified·Apple Valley·Grades K-12·1,489 students·36% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 946-5414·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
53
🚀 Growth Engine · Solid
ranked #1,474 statewide · #1 of 12 in Apple Valley Unified

Academy for Academic Excellence scores 53 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 74th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

Most rating sites would stop at “48% proficient” and call it done. Academy for Academic Excellence deserves a closer read. The school sits in Apple Valley, where one in three students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The headline number: +18.8pp separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.

As a charter, Academy for Academic Excellence enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

22%
22%
56%
Grade 3 · 44% proficient
17%
27%
56%
Grade 4 · 44% proficient
34%
30%
36%
Grade 5 · 64% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding rises 11.9pp across grades; the floor rises 20.1pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 5 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
21.5%
State 21.3%
0.2pp above state avg
Met or exceeded
47.7%
State 42.7%
5.1pp above state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+18.8pp
State -2.9pp
Scores improve across grades
Chronic absenteeism
8.8%
State 17.9%
9.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
3.1%
State 1.6%
1.5pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what changed — new curriculum, new principal, new program. Momentum has a cause, and a visit will find it.

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

Estimated K-12 Path
Elementary
Academy for Academic Exce…
53
This school

Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

Your other options

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic46.5%
White40.0%
Asian1.8%
Black2.9%
Other8.9%
GenderFemale 48.8%Male 51.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 35.5% (28pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
1,489
289 above CA avg (~1,200)
Transitional Kindergarten
TK status unconfirmed
No TK enrollment is on file with the state for this school — that isn't the same as “no TK.” Confirm directly with the district.
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$11,653
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$60,367 – $136,253
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, 47.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 25.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Academy for Academic Excellence outperforms its district average for low-income students by 21.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (34.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (49.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 32.4 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 285 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Math · Disabilities−34.5pp
11.3% vs 45.8% overall · n=94
3 more gaps by subject
ELA · Disabilities−32.4pp
26.3% vs 58.7% overall · n=94
ELA Exceeded · Disabilities−18.7pp
6.1% vs 24.8% overall · n=94
Math Exceeded · Disabilities−16.1pp
5.2% vs 21.3% overall · n=94

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income285 tested
ELA 47.4%·Math 34.4%· +21.6pp vs district
Hispanic369 tested
ELA 49.9%·Math 37.1%· +21.9pp vs district
White309 tested
ELA 65.0%·Math 55.0%· +28.9pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.

Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 12.2pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +1.4pp.

Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 60%Support 36%Other 4%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$77K
$8K below CA median
Median Home Value
$428K
$231K below CA median
Bachelor's+
22%
13pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
11.7 years avg experience
73 teachers · 7% first-year · 7% second-year
Teacher Credentials
91% fully credentialed
1.5% on intern/emergency permit

Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
21.5%
↑ vs CA 21.3% · 50th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
47.7%
↑ vs CA 42.7% · 54th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
+18.8pp
↑ vs CA -2.9pp · 82th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
8.8%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 65th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
3.1%
↓ vs CA 1.6% · 38th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 310622%22%22%35%43%+0
Grade 411217%27%23%33%44%−1
Grade 510734%30%18%19%64%+16
Grade 612414%40%23%23%53%+7
Grade 712523%37%18%22%60%+12
Grade 811528%40%23%10%68%+22
Grade 1110637%42%14%7%79%+32
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 310615%23%28%34%38%−8
Grade 411212%31%25%32%43%+1
Grade 510730%25%22%22%55%+20
Grade 612423%21%23%32%44%+9
Grade 712521%32%27%20%53%+19
Grade 811535%15%31%19%50%+17
Grade 1110613%25%27%35%38%+14
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/1133217%30%48%5%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged28547.4%+22+9
Hispanic/Latino36949.9%+22+11
White30965.0%+29+3
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Academy for Academic Excellence ←5321.5%47.7%+18.83.1%
Sixth Street Prep1.1 mi7543.2%69.8%+31.30.6%
Galileo Academy 1013.2 mi5027.0%50.1%+9.83.1%
Rio Vista School of Applied Learning2.8 mi3512.6%32.7%−2.00.8%
California average4321.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
45%53%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #2178 → #2165 → #2036 → #1974 → #1474
What we can't show
  • — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

Frequently asked questions

Is Academy for Academic Excellence a good elementary school?
Academy for Academic Excellence has a Scope Score of 53 out of 100, placing it in the 74th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #1,474 statewide. 21.5% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Academy for Academic Excellence's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 47.7% of students at Academy for Academic Excellence met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 21.5% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 26.3% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 21.5% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 650 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Academy for Academic Excellence rank in California?
Academy for Academic Excellence ranks #1,474 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 74th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Academy for Academic Excellence getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Academy for Academic Excellence increases by 18.8 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Academy for Academic Excellence?
8.8% of students at Academy for Academic Excellence are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 3.1%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Academy for Academic Excellence compare to other schools in Apple Valley?
Academy for Academic Excellence scores 53/100 (74th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 1,489 students. Use the schools in Apple Valley page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Academy for Academic Excellence serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Academy for Academic Excellence in Apple Valley, 47.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 25.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Academy for Academic Excellence outperforms its district average for low-income students by 21.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (34.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (49.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 32.4 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 285 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.