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Desert Sands Charter

NOTE: this school is no longer listed as a functioning school by the National Center for Education Statistics. We continue to list this school on SchoolDigger for historical purposes.

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Public, Charter Grades 9-12

1,234

Students ?

23.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

84.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

44130 20th St. W.
Lancaster, CA 93534-4045

(661) 942-3357

District: Antelope Valley Union High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

54.8%

White:

19.5%

African American:

18.3%

See top rated California public schools

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 21st percentile in 2016 → 28th in 2018

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 28th (2018) from a 21st-percentile low (2016)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (18% vs 44% meeting standards)

!Graduation rate below the California average (22% vs 88%)

!Dropout rate above the California average (18% vs 8%)

Students meeting standards (2017-2018) ?

This school18%

District avg25%

California avg44%

Not ranked this year

Desert Sands Charter did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

1078^th of 1,543Antelope Valley Union High among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	24.0	1451 of 2017	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.3	1547 of 2021	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	15.1	1614 of 2039	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	16.5	1556 of 1994	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.4	1771 of 2426	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	14.2	1838 of 2354	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	17.8	1720 of 2367	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	18.8	1669 of 2281	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.4	1465 of 2238	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2008	26.7	1262 of 2117	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	22.7	1390 of 2063	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	20.4	1412 of 1968	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	19.0	1433 of 1901	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	17.7	1368 of 1653	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	24.4	451 of 582	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	22.5	892 of 1052	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	25.4	739 of 938	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	16.9	1418 of 1760	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	24.7	1263 of 1742	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	22.7	1367 of 1862	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	27.4	1276 of 1834	30.4%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	5.1	350 of 366	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	11.1	1022 of 1173	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2018)30th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2018)27th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)27th percentile~ school

African American (2018)23rd percentile-6 vs school

English Language Learner (2018)21st percentile-7 vs school

Female (2018)19th percentile-9 vs school

Disabled (2018)15th percentile-13 vs school

White (2018)13th percentile-15 vs school

Multi-racial (2018)4th percentile-24 vs school

By subject vs California (2017-2018) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy32%-24 vs state

Mathematics4%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Desert Sands Charter

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Desert Sands Charter	Public, Charter	8-12	44130 20th St. West	Lancaster	93534	Los Angeles County	Desert Sands Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 942-3357	727	37	18.7	78.7%	80 (11.0%)	98 (13.5%)	432 (59.4%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	106 (14.6%)	33.3	1417^th of 2162 public high schools	34.5%		22.4	1644^th of 2159 public high schools	23.9%	227				32.0	32.0				40.3	40.3				6.7	6.7
Empower Generations	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	44236 10th St. W. Ste. 105	Lancaster	93534	Los Angeles County	Empower Generations District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(661) 429-3264	81	2	36.4	85.2%	13 (16.0%)	32 (39.5%)	29 (35.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.4%)	21.1	1671^st of 2162 public high schools	22.7%		12.6	1907^th of 2159 public high schools	11.7%	236			9.5		8.0				30.4	30.4				8.7	8.7	$20,083	$924	$19,159
SOAR High (Students On Academic Rise)	Public	9-12	3041 West Avenue K	Lancaster	93536	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 722-6509	670	25	26.6	57.9%	88 (13.1%)	79 (11.8%)	409 (61.0%)	47 (7.0%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	43 (6.4%)	93.5	130^th of 2162 public high schools	94.0%		94.9	115^th of 2159 public high schools	94.7%	15		53.1			52.8				83.2	83.2				53.4	53.4	$14,793	$1,689	$13,104
Lancaster High	Public	9-12	44701 32nd St. West	Lancaster	93536	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 726-7649	2,688	107	25.1	66.5%	259 (9.6%)	617 (23.0%)	1,562 (58.1%)	95 (3.5%)	8 (0.3%)	3 (0.1%)	144 (5.4%)	27.9	1529^th of 2162 public high schools	29.3%		29	1516^th of 2159 public high schools	29.8%	13		13.8		11.1	13.6				35.4	35.4				11.6	11.6	$17,132	$1,977	$15,155
Antelope Valley High	Public	9-12	44900 North Division St.	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 948-8552	1,498	69	21.5	77.9%	39 (2.6%)	445 (29.7%)	946 (63.2%)	12 (0.8%)	8 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (3.1%)	22.2	1649^th of 2162 public high schools	23.7%		23	1627^th of 2159 public high schools	24.6%	22		7.0		5.3	6.8				33.6	33.6				10.3	10.3	$20,444	$3,158	$17,286
Assurance Learning Academy	Public, Charter	8-12	43145 Business Center Ste. 102	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Assurance Learning Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 272-1225	3,014	115	26.1	84.3%	310 (10.3%)	202 (6.7%)	2,308 (76.6%)	27 (0.9%)	10 (0.3%)	4 (0.1%)	139 (4.6%)	18	1726^th of 2162 public high schools	20.2%		18.9	1723^rd of 2159 public high schools	20.2%	3				18.9	18.9				22.7	22.7				3.3	3.3
Mission Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter	6-12	43141 Business Center Pkwy Ste	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Mission Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(844) 788-3965	694	34	20.2	78.2%	142 (20.5%)	51 (7.3%)	420 (60.5%)	17 (2.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	48 (6.9%)	54	948^th of 2162 public high schools	56.2%		32.6	1433^rd of 2159 public high schools	33.6%	485	15.9			46.2	19.2	40.0	36.7	23.4	41.5	34.8	32.0	36.0	20.6	31.1	28.5
Desert Winds Continuation High	Public	9-12	415 East Kettering St.	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 948-7555	605	28	21.8	74.4%	33 (5.5%)	191 (31.6%)	345 (57.0%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.0%)	11.7	1929^th of 2162 public high schools	10.8%		10.1	2063^rd of 2159 public high schools	4.4%	134		5.5		6.7	5.8				10.2	10.2				3.8	3.8	$14,018	$1,610	$12,408
Phoenix High Community Day	Public	9-12	228 East Ave. H8	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 729-3936	19	6	3.2	68.4%	0 (0.0%)	8 (42.1%)	9 (47.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (10.5%)								(n/a)																$59,494	$1,536	$57,958
Quartz Hill High	Public	9-12	6040 West Avenue L	Quartz Hill	93536	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 718-3100	3,175	115	27.6	42.2%	820 (25.8%)	357 (11.2%)	1,639 (51.6%)	123 (3.9%)	10 (0.3%)	6 (0.2%)	220 (6.9%)	51.6	1004^th of 2162 public high schools	53.6%		50.4	989^th of 2159 public high schools	54.2%	15		23.3		17.0	22.9				51.4	51.4				25.8	25.8	$16,319	$1,778	$14,541

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Sands Charter

What is the racial makeup of Desert Sands Charter?

Students at Desert Sands Charter are 55% Hispanic, 20% White, 18% African American, 6% Two or more races.

How many students attend Desert Sands Charter?

In the 2017-18 school year, 1,234 students attended Desert Sands Charter.

What district is Desert Sands Charter in?

Antelope Valley Union High

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.