Academy of the Canyons: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Academy of the Canyons posts 58.7% exceeding the standard — versus 15.8% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68 | 59% | 87% | 98.0% | 2.5% | 5.6% | 0.5% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Academy of the Canyons scores 68 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 93rd percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “87% proficient” and call it done. Academy of the Canyons deserves a closer read. It sits at the 93rd percentile of 2,160 California high schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 58.7% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 15.8%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 93rd-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 87% meet the standard today, versus 97% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 100% | 94% | 94% | 81% | 97% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 94% | 71% | 68% | 62% | 78% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 87 are proficient by 11th grade → 98 graduate → 3 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask what share of students complete the full college-prep course sequence, and who gets steered into it.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Academy of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, 100.0% of asian students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 90.0% district-wide and 74.4% statewide. Academy of the Canyons outperforms its district average for asian students by 10.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Asian students (82.3% Math proficient); White students (96.2% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.5 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 34 students tested.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
At 385 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 82% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Academy of the Canyons a good high school?
What are Academy of the Canyons's CAASPP test scores?
How does Academy of the Canyons rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Academy of the Canyons?
How does Academy of the Canyons compare to other schools in Santa Clarita?
How does Academy of the Canyons serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 66
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 79
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 98 | 77% | 20% | 3% | 0% | 97% | +50 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 98 | 41% | 37% | 18% | 4% | 78% | +54 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 98 | 27% | 55% | 18% | 0% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 34 | 100.0% | +10 | +26 |
| White | 26 | 96.2% | +20 | +34 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 21 | 90.5% | +32 | +52 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy of the Canyons ← | — | 68 | 58.7% | 87.3% | — | 0.5% |
| West Ranch High | 1.6 mi | 73 | 49.8% | 72.9% | — | 1.3% |
| Valencia High | 2.4 mi | 66 | 40.5% | 68.8% | — | 1.3% |
| William S. Hart High | 2.4 mi | 58 | 25.7% | 51.6% | — | 1.2% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 73 | 95 | #102 | 74.2% | 97.0% | 3.6% | 0.7% | — |
| 2022 | 66 | 92 | #167 | 53.1% | 82.4% | 7.7% | 1.5% | — |
| 2023 | 67 | 93 | #156 | 56.5% | 81.0% | 6.0% | 0.6% | — |
| 2024 | 60 | 85 | #318 | 41.8% | 71.7% | 6.1% | 0.6% | — |
| 2025 | 68 | 93 | #144 | 58.7% | 87.3% | 5.6% | 0.5% | — |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 0.0% | 1.5% | +1.5pp |
| Male | 0.6% | 1.6% | +1.0pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 1.5% | +1.5pp |
| White | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 0.0% | 1.2% | +1.2pp |
| Two or More Races | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.0pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 0.0% | 1.4% | +1.4pp |
| All Students | 0.2% | 1.6% | +1.4pp |
| Black/African American | — | 0.0% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction