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School Profile · Lucerne Valley

Granite Mountain Charter: Kids show up — absenteeism runs far below the state. But math slips between grade 3 and grade 5.

Granite Mountain Charter is a school of real strengths with one number worth interrogating. Most rating sites pick a side; we think both belong on the same page.

8560 Aliento Road, 92356 (opens in new tab)·Lucerne Valley Unified·Lucerne Valley·Grades K-12·4,393 students·40% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(909) 906-3593·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
41
🤝 Culture First · Developing
ranked #2,778 statewide · #4 of 6 in Lucerne Valley Unified

Granite Mountain Charter scores 41 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 52nd 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 “36% proficient” and call it done. Granite Mountain Charter deserves a closer read. The school sits in Lucerne 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: 0.8% chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.

As a charter, Granite Mountain Charter enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.

The story this school is actually telling

The culture · kids show up
0.8%

chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.

↑ a culture signal, not a test score
The trajectory · grade 3→5
6.2pp

math proficiency runs 35% in grade 3 against 20% in grade 5, while reading holds (42% to 45%). The state average rises by +4.5pp over the same span.

↓ the part no ranking site shows you

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

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

18%
24%
58%
Grade 3 · 42% proficient
19%
23%
58%
Grade 4 · 42% proficient
14%
30%
56%
Grade 5 · 44% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding falls 3.3pp across grades; the floor rises 2.9pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. The school's 5th graders aren't posting a wider lead than its 3rd graders. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 5 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
13.8%
State 21.3%
7.5pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
36.2%
State 42.7%
6.4pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-6.2pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Chronic absenteeism
0.8%
State 17.9%
17.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.0%
State 1.6%
1.6pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask the principal what changes between grade 3 and grade 5. The trajectory is the thing a tour will tell you more about than a spreadsheet.

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Path

Granite Mountain Charter serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here.

Your other options

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic48.3%
White34.8%
Asian3.3%
Black3.4%
Other10.3%
GenderFemale 49.3%Male 50.7%Non-binary 0.1%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 39.9% (24pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
4,393
3,193 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
27:1
6 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$16,948
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$62,006 – $135,232
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Granite Mountain Charter in Lucerne Valley, 39.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 26.4% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Granite Mountain Charter outperforms its district average for low-income students by 12.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (24.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (44.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 25.5 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 948 students tested.
Equity Gaps
ELA · Disabilities−25.5pp
22.8% vs 48.4% overall · n=278
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Disabilities−10.0pp
6.4% vs 16.4% overall · n=278
Math · Disabilities−23.7pp
7.6% vs 31.3% overall · n=278
Math Exceeded · Disabilities−11.1pp
2.6% vs 13.7% overall · n=278

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

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income948 tested
ELA 39.1%·Math 24.2%· +12.8pp vs district
Hispanic1,129 tested
ELA 44.6%·Math 25.2%· +21.7pp vs district
White847 tested
ELA 46.5%·Math 34.9%· +12.7pp 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 4.7pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +12.1pp.

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

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 57%Support 39%Other 4%

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

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$55K
$30K below CA median
Median Home Value
$270K
$389K below CA median
Bachelor's+
20%
15pp 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
14.0 years avg experience
197 teachers · 1% first-year · 3% second-year
Teacher Credentials
27% 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 nerds

Every number on this page

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

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
13.8%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 43th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
36.2%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 45th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
-6.2pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 44th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
0.8%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 78th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.0%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 63th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 343918%24%27%31%42%−1
Grade 439719%23%28%30%43%−2
Grade 537314%30%25%30%45%−3
Grade 634611%35%27%27%47%−0
Grade 736214%36%28%21%51%+3
Grade 82899%39%28%24%48%+2
Grade 1114829%36%16%18%66%+18
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 343912%23%29%36%35%−11
Grade 439712%22%34%33%34%−8
Grade 53738%12%25%56%20%−16
Grade 634614%15%28%42%29%−6
Grade 736214%19%29%38%33%−1
Grade 828917%17%21%45%34%+2
Grade 1114919%15%23%42%35%+12
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/1181510%28%52%10%

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 Disadvantaged94839.1%+13+1
Hispanic/Latino1,12944.6%+22+6
White84746.5%+13−15
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Granite Mountain Charter ←4113.8%36.2%−6.20.0%
Southern California Flex Academy0 mi318.2%29.3%−5.30.2%
Lucerne Valley Elementary3.3 mi276.3%22.0%−3.54.2%
California average4321.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
35%41%'22'23'24'25
2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · rank #2784 → #2731 → #2671 → #2778
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 Granite Mountain Charter a good elementary school?
Granite Mountain Charter has a Scope Score of 41 out of 100, placing it in the 52nd percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #2,778 statewide. 13.8% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 7.5 percentage points below 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 Granite Mountain Charter's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 36.2% of students at Granite Mountain Charter met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 13.8% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 22.4% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 13.8% 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. 2,418 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Granite Mountain Charter rank in California?
Granite Mountain Charter ranks #2,778 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 52nd 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 Granite Mountain Charter getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Granite Mountain Charter decreases by 6.2 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. 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 Granite Mountain Charter?
0.8% of students at Granite Mountain Charter are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.0%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. 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 Granite Mountain Charter compare to other schools in Lucerne Valley?
Granite Mountain Charter scores 41/100 (52nd 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 4,393 students. Use the schools in Lucerne Valley page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Granite Mountain Charter serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Granite Mountain Charter in Lucerne Valley, 39.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 26.4% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Granite Mountain Charter outperforms its district average for low-income students by 12.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (24.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (44.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 25.5 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 948 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.