School Profile · Helendale
Independence Charter Academy: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Independence Charter Academy posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (1.9% vs 3.7%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
15350 Riverview Road PO Box 249, 92342 (opens in new tab)·Helendale Elementary·Helendale·Grades K-12·118 students·62% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 952-1760·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
17
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #2,126 statewide · #5 of 5 in Helendale Elementary
Independence Charter Academy scores 17 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 5th percentile of 2,238 California middle 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 “11% proficient” and call it done. Independence Charter Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Helendale, where three in five 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.
As a charter, Independence Charter Academy enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
The 4 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
0.0%
State 16.8%
16.8pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
10.7%
State 39.3%
28.6pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
22.2%
State 18.5%
3.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.9%
State 3.7%
1.8pp 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.
K-12 Path
Independence Charter Academy 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 ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic53.4%
White30.5%
Black7.6%
Other8.5%
GenderFemale 39.8%Male 60.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 61.9% (2pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
118
1,082 below CA avg (~1,200)
Transitional Kindergarten
No TK reported, 2025-26
California requires the district to offer TK, but not every site has a room — ask the district which campuses do.
Student-Teacher Ratio
30:1
9 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$19,138
District avg: $11,199 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
Teacher Salary Range
$52,126 – $135,696
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Independence Charter Academy in Helendale, 21.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Independence Charter Academy trails its district average for low-income students by 8.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.7% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 23 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Disabilities+13.8pp
36.0% vs 22.2% overall · n=25
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income23 tested
ELA 21.7%·Math 8.7%· -8.1pp 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.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$115K
$30K above CA median
Median Home Value
$379K
$280K below CA median
Bachelor's+
24%
11pp 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
19.5 years avg experience
6 teachers
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 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
Exceeded standard · 43%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 16.8% · 31th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
10.7%
↓ vs CA 39.3% · 27th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
22.2%
↓ vs CA 18.5% · 45th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.9%
↑ vs CA 3.7% · 57th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 7 | 14 | 0% | 21% | 36% | 43% | 21% | −26 |
| Grade 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 11 | 18 | 0% | 22% | 22% | 56% | 22% | −25 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 7 | 14 | 0% | 0% | 43% | 57% | 0% | −34 |
| Grade 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 11 | 18 | 6% | 6% | 6% | 83% | 11% | −12 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 40 | 0% | 15% | 68% | 18% |
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 | 23 | 21.7% | −8 | −16 |
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Charter Academy ← | — | 17 | 0.0% | 10.7% | — | 1.9% |
| California average | — | 40 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1921 → #1729 → #1451 → #1940 → #2126
What we can't show
- — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
- — Scored here as a middle school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 16 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,238 middle 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 Independence Charter Academy a good middle school?
Independence Charter Academy has a Scope Score of 17 out of 100, placing it in the 5th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #2,126 statewide. 0.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 16.8 percentage points below the California average of 16.8%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for middle 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 Independence Charter Academy's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 10.7% of students at Independence Charter Academy met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 0.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 10.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 0.0% 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. 28 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Independence Charter Academy rank in California?
Independence Charter Academy ranks #2,126 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 5th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 6 to grade 8 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.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Independence Charter Academy?
22.2% of students at Independence Charter Academy are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 18.5%. The suspension rate is 1.9%, 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 Independence Charter Academy compare to other schools in Helendale?
Independence Charter Academy scores 17/100 (5th percentile) among California middle 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 118 students. Use the schools in Helendale page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does Independence Charter Academy serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Independence Charter Academy in Helendale, 21.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Independence Charter Academy trails its district average for low-income students by 8.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.7% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 23 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.