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Walden Academy

Public, Charter Grades K-8

5049^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 14% of California elementary schools

Summary

Walden Academy is a public charter elementary school serving grades K-8 in Willows, CA, with 186 students. The school is part of the Walden Academy District, which is ranked 1429 out of 1565 districts in California and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Walden Academy consistently underperforms the state average on standardized tests, with only 31.25% of students proficient or better in ELA and 19.79% in Math, compared to state averages of 48.81% and 37.3%, respectively. The school also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 9.6% to 30% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, Walden Academy spends significantly more per student ($9,231 to $14,072) compared to the state average, but this has not translated into better academic outcomes.

Interestingly, Walden Academy's academic performance is significantly lower than most of the nearby schools, such as Capay Joint Union Elementary, Lake Elementary, and Plaza Elementary, which consistently outperform Walden Academy and the state averages on standardized tests. The school's performance has also declined over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 2,770 out of 5,883 elementary schools in 2021-2022 to 5,049 out of 5,857 in 2024-2025, and its star rating decreasing from 3 to 1 over the same period.

167

Students ?

16.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

44.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1149 West Wood St.
Willows, CA 95988-2614

(530) 361-6480

District: Walden Academy District

Racial breakdown:

White:

40.1%

Hispanic:

38.3%

Two or more races:

17.4%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 53rd percentile in 2022 → 14th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (25% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped from its 53rd-percentile peak (2022) to 14th (2025)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school25%

California avg41%

Elementary school

5,049^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 8 pts since 2019

From bottom 6% (2019) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

2,276^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 18%▼ down 43 pts since 2021

From top 39% (2021) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1418^th of 1,543Walden Academy District 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	5049 of 5857	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.6	4805 of 5869	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.4	3692 of 5859	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.5	2770 of 5883	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	37.5	823 of 1417	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	11.8	5464 of 5789	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2021	29.4	860 of 1267	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	13.6	5113 of 5492	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.1	3752 of 5107	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	18.7	4893 of 5517	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	39.8	651 of 1110	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	15.9	4786 of 5173	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	4803 of 5628	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	5586 of 5643	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	28.1	3951 of 5638	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	47.3	2594 of 5663	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	34.3	768 of 1272	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	15.4	5027 of 5510	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	14.6	2341 of 2651	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.3	2444 of 2661	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	24.6	2156 of 2726	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	2.2	2809 of 2834	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	2276 of 2761	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.0	2083 of 2783	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.9	1493 of 2781	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.9	1532 of 2740	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	55.9	352 of 894	60.6%	★★★☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Female (2021)32nd percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)27th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2025)15th percentile~ school

White (2024)12th percentile-6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)11th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy31%-18 vs state

Mathematics20%-18 vs state

Science19%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near Walden Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)						CSA Spanish Listening (2025)						CSA Spanish Writing (2025)						CSA Spanish Reading (2025)						CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Walden Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1149 West Wood St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Walden Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 361-6480	167	10	16.7	44.3%	67 (40.1%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (38.3%)	3 (1.8%)	4 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (17.4%)	17.6	5049^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.8%		20.6	4805^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.1%	244																									14.3		19.4	30.4	38.9	19.1	15.4	27.3		31.3	21.7	22.2	4.8	15.4	27.3		19.8
Murdock Elementary	Public	K-4	655 West French St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Willows Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 934-6640	488	24	20.0	74.0%	189 (38.7%)	4 (0.8%)	242 (49.6%)	20 (4.1%)	29 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	13.7	5370^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.3%		13	5482^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	112																												15.9	21.6					18.8	20.7	23.0					21.9						$27,324	$25,030	$2,294
Princeton Elementary	Public	K-8	428 Norman Rd.	Princeton	95970	Colusa County	Princeton Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 439-2501	83	6	14.8	66.3%	23 (27.7%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (61.4%)	1 (1.2%)	5 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.6%)	12.5	5467^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.7%					(n/a)																									8.3	9.1	8.7			16.7			9.1	29.8			16.7			9.1	29.8						$23,041	$20,062	$2,979
Plaza Elementary	Public	K-8	7322 County Road 24	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Plaza Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1250	215	10	21.5	29.8%	123 (57.2%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (37.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.6%)	76.9	1287^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.0%		76.5	1317^th of 5869 public elementary schools	77.6%	30																									56.5	52.6	54.8	69.6	77.3	69.6	30.4	71.4	70.0	64.4	87.0	81.8	39.1	39.1	71.4	52.6	61.8						$27,101	$24,766	$2,335
Fairview Elementary	Public	3-5	1308 Fairview St.	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Orland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1235	458	20	22.4	84.9%	112 (24.5%)	2 (0.4%)	318 (69.4%)	10 (2.2%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	12.7	5448^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.0%		13	5479^th of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	31																									13.1		13.1	19.6	24.7	20.3				21.5	16.5	18.1	9.2				14.5						$24,017	$22,066	$1,951
Mill Street Elementary	Public	K-2	102 Second St.	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Orland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1240	521	27	19.3	86.9%	121 (23.2%)	3 (0.6%)	374 (71.8%)	7 (1.3%)	6 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.9%)								(n/a)																																										93.6	98.4	94.7	97.9	98.4	$23,951	$21,946	$2,005
Maxwell Elementary	Public	K-5	146 North St.	Maxwell	95955	Colusa County	Maxwell Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 438-2401	124	7	17.7	75.0%	43 (34.7%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (55.6%)	4 (3.2%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.0%)	44.6	2914^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.2%		37.5	3335^th of 5869 public elementary schools	43.2%	421																									5.9		5.9	47.6	44.4	47.1				46.4	38.1	50.0	29.4				39.3	91.7				91.7	$21,172	$19,372	$1,800
Lake Elementary	Public	K-8	4672 County Road North	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Lake Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1255	196	10	20.6	43.4%	124 (63.3%)	1 (0.5%)	66 (33.7%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	59.1	2112^th of 5857 public elementary schools	63.9%		69.9	1602^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	72.7%	510																									24.0	50.0	34.9	71.4	54.6	24.0	89.5	81.0	88.9	65.9	81.0	40.9	12.0	73.7	28.6	55.6	46.8						$32,222	$30,338	$1,884
Hamilton Elementary	Public	K-8	277 Capay Ave.	Hamilton City	95951	Glenn County	Hamilton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 826-3474	393	22	18.1	91.3%	10 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	364 (92.6%)	8 (2.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.3%)	16.2	5169^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.7%		20.6	4798^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.2%	371	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.2	0.8	14.8	11.1	11.1	13.6	8.3	11.8	3.7	19.2	3.7	4.6	4.2	7.1	3.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.2	1.6	12.8	17.4	15.1	10.2	7.8	22.2	32.6	32.6	13.3	19.4	26.5	11.8	10.9	32.6	11.6	15.2	18.2						$21,715	$21,250	$465
Elk Creek Elementary	Public	K-8	3430 County Road 309	Elk Creek	95939	Glenn County	Stony Creek Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 968-5288	34	5	6.8	73.5%	8 (23.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (23.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.9%)								(n/a)																																		32.0							28.0						$63,972	$56,546	$7,426

Frequently Asked Questions about Walden Academy

Is Walden Academy a good school?

Walden Academy ranks in the bottom 13.8% of California elementary schools.

What district is Walden Academy in?

Walden Academy District

What is the racial makeup of Walden Academy?

Students at Walden Academy are 40% White, 38% Hispanic, 17% Two or more races, 2% American Indian, 2% Asian.

How many students attend Walden Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 167 students attended Walden Academy.

Rate Walden Academy!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.