How does Joe Walker Middle compare to other middle schools in Lancaster?

Joe Walker Middle has a Scope Score of 48.0/100, ranked #908 among California middle schools. 23% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,516 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Joe Walker Middle?

22.6% of students at Joe Walker Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 49.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Joe Walker Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Joe Walker Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 55.9 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Joe Walker Middle?

24.5% of students at Joe Walker Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in the Scope Score.

Joe Walker Middle

Middle School

Westside Union Elementary LancasterLos Angeles County93536

📍 5632 West Avenue L-8

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

Building Momentum

Every school has strengths the data doesn’t fully capture. Visit and see for yourself.

Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

818 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

61%

Teachers

34 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-6.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-1.5 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

15.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 38 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic48.8%

White29.1%

Asian1.6%

Black11.7%

Other8.8%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Joe Walker Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	22.6%
Met Standard	27.0%
Below Standard	50.5%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 22.6%

5.2pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 49.5%

10.0pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 49.5%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Growth (G6→G8): -55.9pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 24.5%

5.2pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Suspension rate: 10.3%

6.2pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "50% proficient" for Joe Walker Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

22.6% of students exceeded standard while 27.0% met it. That exceeded rate is 5.2 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 3.2 points above the Westside Union Elementary district average of 19.3%. Compared to the 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 7.9 points higher (vs 14.7% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 55.9 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance declined and Math maintained year-over-year. 15.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 24.5%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

22.6%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

49.5%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-55.9pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

24.5%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

10.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,516

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	33	48.5%	48.5%	3.0%	0.0%	97.0%
7th	356	11.5%	28.4%	23.0%	37.1%	39.9%
8th	373	13.1%	26.0%	22.8%	38.1%	39.1%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	33	42.4%	33.3%	21.2%	3.0%	75.8%
7th	353	10.5%	13.3%	26.9%	49.3%	23.8%
8th	368	9.2%	12.5%	21.5%	56.8%	21.7%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Leona Valley Elementary

54.7# in state

Quartz Hill Elementary

47.7# in state

Valley View Elementary

31.0# in state

Also serves area

Gregg Anderson Academy

70.6# in state

Sundown Elementary

33.2# in state

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Middle

Joe Walker Middle

48.0# in state

This school

▼

High School

No feeder data available for this level

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.