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Desert Winds Continuation High

Public Grades 9-12

1929^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 11% of California high schools

Summary

Desert Winds Continuation High is a public continuation school serving approximately 605 students in grades 9-12 in Lancaster, CA, operating within the Antelope Valley Union High district and designed to support students who have struggled in traditional high school settings.

The school faces significant challenges, with a 29% graduation rate and a 63% dropout rate, which are dramatically lower than nearby schools like SOAR High (Students On Academic Rise) (100% graduation) or Quartz Hill High (93%). Chronic absenteeism is a major concern at 77%, far exceeding the district average, and academic proficiency is critically low across all subjects, particularly in mathematics where only about 4% of students are proficient.

While the school serves a high-needs population, its outcomes are lower than other local alternative schools such as Mission Academy. Notably, the school spends less per student than most other comprehensive high schools in its district. A potential bright spot is its performance with foster care students, where it has shown relative strength, suggesting there may be effective support practices that could be expanded.

605

Students ?

21.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,018

Per pupil spending ?

74.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

415 East Kettering St.
Lancaster, CA 93535-2503

(661) 948-7555

District: Antelope Valley Union High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

57.0%

African American:

31.6%

White:

5.5%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 22nd percentile in 2013 → 11th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (7% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (29% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school7%

District avg23%

California avg41%

1,929^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 11%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^th of 12High Schools in the Antelope Valley Union High

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
2025	11.7	1929 of 2162	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	2063 of 2159	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	1925 of 2170	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.3	1908 of 2123	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	1850 of 2133	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.2	1753 of 2017	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.6	1727 of 2021	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	9.6	1897 of 2039	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.5	1726 of 1994	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	14.9	1887 of 2426	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	14.1	1846 of 2354	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	15.0	1853 of 2367	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	14.1	1866 of 2281	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	20.6	1792 of 2238	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	16.7	1681 of 2117	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	18.5	1571 of 2063	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	16.2	1610 of 1968	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	18.6	1446 of 1901	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	19.7	1286 of 1653	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.9	470 of 523	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	487 of 517	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	472 of 521	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.0	474 of 522	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.7	525 of 592	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.3	541 of 582	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	19.3	1119 of 1161	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.7	819 of 1117	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	23.8	1059 of 1085	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.1	927 of 1064	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.8	987 of 1044	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.9	876 of 941	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	28.9	659 of 938	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.0	1738 of 1906	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.1	1825 of 1915	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.9	1762 of 1915	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.4	1730 of 1858	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.9	1688 of 1833	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.1	1571 of 1760	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.8	7 of 8	12.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.2	1 of 8	87.5%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.9	1656 of 1900	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	1789 of 1902	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.9	1656 of 1917	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.8	1662 of 1861	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.9	1468 of 1814	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.7	1483 of 1742	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	1764 of 2013	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	1900 of 2026	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	1830 of 2030	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.0	1750 of 1943	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.8	1679 of 1937	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.0	1594 of 1862	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	1705 of 1942	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	1852 of 1948	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	1728 of 1963	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.5	1731 of 1916	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.1	1592 of 1880	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	1616 of 1834	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	2.8	571 of 577	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.6	572 of 574	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.2	534 of 541	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.8	505 of 515	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	0.6	366 of 366	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.0	904 of 1252	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	1151 of 1216	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.9	1158 of 1197	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	4.9	1100 of 1155	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.8	1117 of 1173	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.9	1117 of 1193	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	1119 of 1204	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.6	1197 of 1222	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.3	1075 of 1173	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)28th percentile+17 vs school

Hispanic (2025)13th percentile~ school

Foster Care (2025)12th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)12th percentile~ school

Male (2025)12th percentile~ school

African American (2025)10th percentile~ school

Female (2025)9th percentile~ school

White (2025)5th percentile-6 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile-7 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)2nd percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)1st percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy10%-39 vs state

Science6%-27 vs state

Mathematics4%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Desert Winds Continuation High

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 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
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
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
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
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 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
Eastside High	Public	9-12	3200 East Ave. J-8	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Antelope Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-3800	2,631	105	25.1	68.5%	98 (3.7%)	582 (22.1%)	1,809 (68.8%)	32 (1.2%)	3 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	103 (3.9%)	27.7	1534^th of 2162 public high schools	29.0%		25.1	1581^st of 2159 public high schools	26.8%	47		10.0		5.4	9.6				43.8	43.8				8.4	8.4	$17,368	$1,929	$15,439
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Winds Continuation High

What is the racial makeup of Desert Winds Continuation High?

Students at Desert Winds Continuation High are 57% Hispanic, 32% African American, 5% White, 5% Two or more races.

How many students attend Desert Winds Continuation High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 605 students attended Desert Winds Continuation High.

What district is Desert Winds Continuation High in?

Antelope Valley Union High

Is Desert Winds Continuation High a good school?

Desert Winds Continuation High ranks in the bottom 10.8% of California high schools.

Rate Desert Winds Continuation 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.