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Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy · Tehachapi

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (0.6% vs 1.6%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

126 South Snyder Avenue, 93561 (opens in new tab)·Tehachapi Unified·Tehachapi·Grades TK-8·108 students·38% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(661) 822-2266·Website
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
2023–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope2945
% Exceeded8%21%
% Met+18%43%
Growth-2.9
Absence27.6%17.9%
Suspension0.6%1.6%
Scope Score
29
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #4,946 statewide · #3 of 4 in Tehachapi Unified

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy scores 29 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 14th 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 →

🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.

Most rating sites would stop at “18% proficient” and call it done. Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Tehachapi, where one in three 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 seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Has stayed near the 14th percentile since 2023.

CA Dashboard
ELABlue(Increased Significantly)MathBlue(Increased Significantly)
ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade202320242025
Grade 433%17%
Grade 521%27%
Grade 845%53%40%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade202320242025
Grade 421%8%
Grade 50%20%
Grade 617%36%
Grade 814%20%20%

The 4 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
7.5%
State 21.3%
13.8pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
17.9%
State 42.7%
24.7pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
27.6%
State 17.9%
9.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
0.6%
State 1.6%
1.0pp 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.

  • Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
  • Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
  • Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
  • Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.

How every group of students does here

All students at this school: 24% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 24%, district —, state 43%24%
WhiteWhite: this school 25%, district 37%, state 56%25% · +1 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 18%, district 29%, state 44%18% · −6 vs school

12 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 27.6%, district 32.8%, state 17.9%27.6% · +9.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 0.6%, district —, state 1.6%0.6% · −1.0pp vs state

Grades 7–8 students miss school at roughly three times the rate of TK/K students (64.6% vs 12.5%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the upper grades.

Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–629.2%
Grades 7–864.6%
TK/K12.5%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Tehachapi Independent Learning…
29/100
This school

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 22:1, district 24:122:1
Teaching staff9 teachers
Avg. experience18.8 years
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$53,853 – $105,430
Principal salary$132,024 – $146,887
Superintendent salary$198,781

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $18,189, CA average $14,815$18,189 · spent at this school
Federal share$189 per student

$189 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$17,433 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction55%
Instruction support10%
Student services13%
Administration10%
Buildings & maintenance11%
Other1%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$11,615 per pupil
2019$11,071 per pupil
2018$10,710 per pupil
2017$10,066 per pupil
2016$9,793 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

White53.7%
District 52.1% · CA 19.9%
Hispanic35.2%
District 40.1% · CA 56.1%
Other8.3%
District 5.5% · CA 9.0%
Black1.9%
District 1.3% · CA 4.8%
Asian0.9%
District 1.0% · CA 10.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 38.0% (26pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$87K · CA $85K
Median home value$409K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+29% · CA 35%
ZIP population31,175
Median age42 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

At 108 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California elementary school (≈480).

Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.

On the state's science test (CAST), 28% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy a good elementary school?

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy has a Scope Score of 29 out of 100, placing it in the 14th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #4,946 statewide. 7.5% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 13.8 percentage points below the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (38%), grade 3-to-5 growth (27%), met or exceeded (proficient) (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 17.9% of students at Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 7.5% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 10.4% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 7.5% 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. 54 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy rank in California?

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy ranks #4,946 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 14th 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.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy?

27.6% of students at Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.6%, 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 Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy compare to other schools in Tehachapi?

Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy scores 29/100 (14th 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 108 students. Use the schools in Tehachapi page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

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.


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 · 38%
7.5%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 37th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
17.9%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 31th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
27.6%
↓ vs CA 17.9% · 34th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.6%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 59th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 39
Grade 41217%0%17%67%17%−28
Grade 51513%13%13%60%27%−21
Grade 69
Grade 7195%32%47%16%37%−11
Grade 8157%33%7%53%40%−6
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 38
Grade 4120%8%33%58%8%−33
Grade 5150%20%13%67%20%−15
Grade 610
Grade 71916%0%37%47%16%−18
Grade 81513%7%20%60%20%−12
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11254%24%48%24%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy ←297.5%17.9%0.6%
Tompkins Elementary0.9 mi289.6%28.8%+1.93.8%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20232410#51361.6%13.5%37.2%0.1%-5.5pp
20242712#50413.3%27.4%27.4%0.8%
20252914#49467.5%17.9%27.6%0.6%
What we can't show
  • — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
  • — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female37.6%
Male27.6%
Hispanic/Latino33.9%
Students with Disabilities16.7%
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged43.2%
All Students32.9%
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction