School Profile · Lancaster
Desert Winds Continuation High: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Desert Winds Continuation posts low test scores — and test scores are one lens among several. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
415 East Kettering Street, 93535·Antelope Valley Union High·Lancaster·Grades 9-12·605 students·74% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(661) 948-7555·Website
Continuation school — a small alternative high school designed for students at risk of not graduating. Focuses on credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Test scores and college-readiness rates are not directly comparable to comprehensive high schools.
Scope Score
8
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,727 statewide · #12 of 12 in Antelope Valley Union High
Desert Winds Continuation High scores 8 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 1st percentile of 1,739 California high 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 “7% proficient” and call it done. Desert Winds Continuation deserves a closer read. The school sits in Lancaster, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.
The story this school is actually telling
Proficient by 11th grade
7%
State 35%
Graduate
29%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 36%
Of 100 students here: 7 are proficient by 11th grade → 29 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 7 things our score weighs
Graduation rate
29.1%
State 87.6%
58.5pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
1.3%
State 15.5%
14.2pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.5%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
7.0%
State 34.6%
27.6pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
74.4%
State 32.1%
42.3pp above state avg
Suspension rate
8.2%
State 4.0%
4.1pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
5.8%
State 17.7%
11.9pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated K-12 Path
Elementary
Academies of the Antelope…
No score
→
High
Desert Winds Continuation…
8
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.
Stanza International Academy
Holston Dr · Nonsectarian · Grades 9-12 · 11 students
4:1Private2.4 mi
Stanza International Academy
Holston Dr · Nonsectarian · Grades 9-12 · 9 students
4:1Private2.4 mi
Paraclete High School
30th St W · Roman Catholic · Grades 9-12 · 548 students
15:1Private5 mi
Lancaster Baptist School
E Lancaster Blvd · Amish · Grades Pre-K-12 · 381 students
20:1Private3.8 mi
Calvary Chapel Christian School
W Ave J · Brethren · Grades Pre-K-11 · 27 students
2:1Private2.5 mi
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic57.0%
White5.5%
Asian0.2%
Black31.6%
Other5.8%
GenderFemale 46.5%Male 53.5%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
605
845 below CA avg (~1,450)
Free/Reduced Lunch
74%
11pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$15,716
District avg: $13,452 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
5.8% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$50,398 – $133,882
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Desert Winds Continuation High in Lancaster, 10.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Desert Winds Continuation High trails its district average for low-income students by 24.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (4.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (12.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.4 percentage points for black students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 220 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Homeless+20.2pp
94.6% vs 74.4% overall · n=37
Suspension · Disabilities+22.5pp
30.7% vs 8.2% overall · n=163
ELA · Black−6.4pp
3.8% vs 10.2% overall · n=79
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income220 tested
ELA 10.0%·Math 4.2%· -24.1pp vs district
Hispanic150 tested
ELA 12.7%·Math 3.4%· -26.3pp vs district
Black79 tested
ELA 3.8%·Math 3.9%· -19.8pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$61K
$24K below CA median
Median Home Value
$300K
$359K below CA median
Bachelor's+
14%
21pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2022) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
18.7 years avg experience
31 teachers · 3% first-year · 3% second-year
Teacher Credentials
64% fully credentialed
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 nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
29.1%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 0th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
1.3%
↓ vs CA 15.5% · 35th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.5% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
7.0%
↓ vs CA 34.6% · 31th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
74.4%
↓ vs CA 32.1% · 17th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
8.2%
↓ vs CA 4.0% · 32th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
5.8%
↓ vs CA 17.7% · 42th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 266 | 2% | 8% | 27% | 62% | 10% | −37 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 262 | 1% | 3% | 7% | 89% | 4% | −20 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 103 | 0% | 6% | 72% | 22% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 220 | 10.0% | −24 | −28 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 150 | 12.7% | −26 | −26 |
| Black/African American | 79 | 3.8% | −20 | −29 |
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Winds Continuation High ← | — | 8 | 1.3% | 7.0% | — | 8.2% |
| Antelope Valley High | 0.4 mi | 44 | 5.8% | 21.9% | — | 15.0% |
| California average | — | 47 | 15.5% | 34.6% | — | 4.0% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
29.1%
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
A-G Completion
72.7%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
27.2%
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1565 → #1637 → #1697 → #1696 → #1727
What we can't show
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 28 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,739 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Desert Winds Continuation High a good high school?
Desert Winds Continuation High has a Scope Score of 8 out of 100, placing it in the 1st percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,727 statewide. 1.3% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 14.2 percentage points below the California average of 15.5%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for high 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 Desert Winds Continuation High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 7.0% of students at Desert Winds Continuation High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 1.3% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 5.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 1.3% 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. 528 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Desert Winds Continuation High rank in California?
Desert Winds Continuation High ranks #1,727 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 1st percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), 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.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Desert Winds Continuation High?
74.4% of students at Desert Winds Continuation High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 32.1%. The suspension rate is 8.2%. 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 Desert Winds Continuation High compare to other schools in Lancaster?
Desert Winds Continuation High scores 8/100 (1st percentile) among California high 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 605 students. Use the schools in Lancaster page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Desert Winds Continuation High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Desert Winds Continuation High in Lancaster, 10.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Desert Winds Continuation High trails its district average for low-income students by 24.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (4.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (12.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.4 percentage points for black students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 220 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.