How does Palmdale High compare to other high schools in Palmdale?

Palmdale High has a Scope Score of 37.9/100, ranked #1192 among California high schools. 5% of students exceed standard, with a total of 933 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Palmdale High?

5.3% of students at Palmdale High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 21.0% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Palmdale High?

31.6% of students at Palmdale High 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.

Palmdale High

High School

Antelope Valley Union High PalmdaleLos Angeles County93550

📍 2137 East Avenue R

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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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

2,358 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

23:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

74%

Teachers

104 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

79.2%

AP Exam Prepared

75.7%

A-G Completion

34.6%

College-Going Rate

53.9%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+4.6 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

+1.4 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

7.5%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 319 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic79.9%

White3.0%

Asian0.3%

Black14.0%

Other2.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Palmdale High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	5.3%
Met Standard	15.8%
Below Standard	79.0%

Score Factors

Helping

✓College readiness: 75.7%

AP exam pass rate above state avg (state avg 35.3%)

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 31.6%

2.7pp below state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Graduation rate: 79.2%

8.2pp below state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

▼Exceeded standard: 5.3%

10.4pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 21.0%

13.7pp below state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 21.0%

Below state baseline (state avg 34.8%)

5% weight

▼Suspension rate: 9.7%

5.6pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% 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 high school Scope Score is weighted across 7 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "21% proficient" for Palmdale High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

5.3% of students exceeded standard while 15.8% met it. That exceeded rate is 10.4 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's 4.1 points below the Antelope Valley Union High district average of 9.3%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 4.5 points higher (vs 0.8% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 79.2%. 34.6% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility. 53.9% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 31.6%, better than the state average of 34.3%.

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

5.3%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

21.0%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

31.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

9.7%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

933

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	466	8.8%	26.2%	25.5%	39.5%	35.0%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	467	1.7%	5.3%	10.5%	82.4%	7.1%

Estimated K-12 PathEstimate

Elementary

Academies of the Antelope…

No score

→

Middle

Academies of the Antelope…

No score

→

High

Palmdale High

37.9

This school

Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.