How does Western Center Academy compare to other middle schools in Hemet?

Western Center Academy has a SchoolScope composite score of 62.6/100, placing it at the 91st percentile statewide. 33% of students exceed standard, with a total of 785 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Western Center Academy?

32.9% of students at Western Center Academy exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 69.0% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Western Center Academy improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Western Center Academy's proficiency rate increases by 2.7 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Western Center Academy?

4.8% of students at Western Center Academy are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Western Center Academy

K-12 School

Hemet Unified HemetRiverside County92543Charter School

📍 2345 Searl Parkway

Charter school — publicly funded but independently operated. Enrollment is open to all students regardless of neighborhood, typically through a lottery process. Charter schools have more flexibility in curriculum and operations but must meet state academic standards.

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🤝

Culture First

Strong school culture with high family engagement, even if test scores are still developing.

Composite 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

741 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

25:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

62%

Teachers

30 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

-2.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-2.7 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic45.1%

White35.2%

Asian4.9%

Black5.1%

Other9.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Western Center Academy
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	32.9%
Met Standard	36.1%
Below Standard	31.0%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "69% proficient" for Western Center Academy and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

32.9% of students exceeded standard while 36.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 15.6 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 23.9 points above the Hemet Unified district average of 9.1%. Compared to the 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 28.9 points higher (vs 4.0% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 2.7 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance maintained and Math maintained year-over-year.

Chronic absenteeism is 4.8%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

How to get into a charter school in LA →