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Independence Continuation

Public Grades 9-12

1781^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 18% of California high schools

Summary

Independence Continuation is a small, alternative high school serving about 103 students in grades 9-12 within the Los Angeles Unified school district in Lake Balboa, designed specifically for students who have struggled in traditional high school settings.

This school serves a unique and high-need mission, which is reflected in its performance data. Academic proficiency in English, math, and science is significantly below district and state averages, and chronic absenteeism, at over 75%, is a major challenge. The school's graduation rate is volatile and much lower than the average, while its dropout rate is higher. It's important to note that other nearby continuation schools, like Will Rogers Continuation and Zane Grey Continuation, face similar profound challenges, creating a stark performance gap compared to traditional high schools in the area such as Van Nuys Senior High or Birmingham Community Charter High.

Despite receiving the highest per-student funding among the listed local schools, outcomes remain difficult. This highlights the intensive resources required to serve its student population and raises questions about program effectiveness. The school's small size also makes its year-to-year results, like graduation rates, highly variable. While its absolute performance is low, its success should be considered in the context of its mission to re-engage students and provide a flexible path to a diploma where other options have not worked.

103

Students ?

18.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$44,169

Per pupil spending ?

90.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6501 Balboa Blvd.
Lake Balboa, CA 91406-5526

(818) 881-7737

District: Los Angeles Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.4%

White:

9.7%

African American:

2.9%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 8th percentile in 2021 → 18th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 18th (2025) from a 8th-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (11% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (49% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg39%

California avg41%

1,781^st of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 18%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 14% (2015) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

127^th of 153High Schools in the Los Angeles Unified

791^st of 1,543Los Angeles Unified 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	15.7	1781 of 2162	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.0	1789 of 2159	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.7	1847 of 2170	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.5	1192 of 1290	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.7	1745 of 2133	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	1608 of 2017	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.1	1703 of 2021	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	15.2	1609 of 2039	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	11.8	1706 of 1994	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	18.7	1707 of 2426	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	14.8	1821 of 2354	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	25.9	1435 of 2367	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	13.8	1878 of 2281	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	17.5	1878 of 2238	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	22.6	1427 of 2117	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	25.0	1307 of 2063	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	21.2	1367 of 1968	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2005	30.4	1038 of 1901	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2004	39.2	722 of 1653	56.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.5	1852 of 1906	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	1671 of 1915	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.2	1800 of 1915	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.5	1496 of 1760	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.7	1610 of 1900	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.8	1538 of 1902	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	1603 of 1917	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.8	1429 of 1814	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.9	1390 of 1742	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.9	1674 of 2013	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.5	1651 of 2026	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.4	1767 of 2030	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.1	988 of 1126	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.2	1541 of 1937	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	1453 of 1862	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.4	1508 of 1942	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.7	1609 of 1948	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	1555 of 1963	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.8	1027 of 1122	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.8	1534 of 1880	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	1466 of 1834	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)22nd percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)17th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)15th percentile~ school

Female (2025)3rd percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy24%-24 vs state

Mathematics6%-32 vs state

Science2%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Independence Continuation

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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 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 (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	CAST Science 8th 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
Independence Continuation	Public	9-12	6501 Balboa Blvd.	Lake Balboa	91406	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 881-7737	103	6	18.7	90.3%	10 (9.7%)	3 (2.9%)	89 (86.4%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15.7	1781^st of 2162 public high schools	17.6%		16	1789^th of 2159 public high schools	17.1%	8		0.0	7.7	2.4				24.3	24.3				5.6	5.6	$44,169	$40,740	$3,429
Daniel Pearl Journalism & Communications Magnet	Public	9-12	6649 Balboa Blvd.	Lake Balboa	91406	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 654-3775	183	14	13.5	78.7%	50 (27.3%)	8 (4.4%)	109 (59.6%)	10 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.3%)	66.7	663^rd of 2162 public high schools	69.3%		71.4	545^th of 2159 public high schools	74.8%	118		35.5		32.4				53.1	53.1				37.5	37.5	$65,532	$62,460	$3,072
Birmingham Community Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	17000 Haynes St.	Lake Balboa	91406	Los Angeles County	Birmingham Community Charter High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 758-5200	3,162	140	22.6	90.0%	147 (4.6%)	122 (3.9%)	2,724 (86.1%)	110 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.1%)	52 (1.6%)	71.4	570^th of 2162 public high schools	73.6%		65.5	642^nd of 2159 public high schools	70.3%	72		36.4	15.6	35.5				75.3	75.3				29.2	29.2
High Technical LA	Public, Charter	9-12	17111 Victory Blvd.	Lake Balboa	91406	Los Angeles County	High Technical LA District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 609-2680	362	16	22.2	47.2%	215 (59.4%)	2 (0.6%)	114 (31.5%)	21 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.8%)	83	359^th of 2162 public high schools	83.4%		89.8	233^rd of 2159 public high schools	89.2%	126		43.5		43.0				68.7	68.7				48.2	48.2
Magnolia Science Academy 2	Public, Charter	6-12	17125 Victory Blvd.	Van Nuys	91406	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 2 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 758-0300	514	21	24.0	92.6%	16 (3.1%)	16 (3.1%)	468 (91.1%)	13 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	50.3	1034^th of 2162 public high schools	52.2%		50.7	984^th of 2159 public high schools	54.4%	50	16.0	26.2		18.9	27.9	29.1	40.0	61.9	35.8	9.6	14.4	15.0	14.6	13.2
Zane Grey Continuation	Public	9-12	18230 Kittridge St.	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 758-3769	77	5	15.2	98.7%	8 (10.4%)	5 (6.5%)	63 (81.8%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.3	1869^th of 2162 public high schools	13.6%		13.2	1881^st of 2159 public high schools	12.9%	12		6.3		9.1				10.7	10.7				8.0	8.0	$56,517	$52,964	$3,553
Reseda Charter High	Public, Charter	6-12	18230 Kittridge St.	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 758-3600	1,339	76	17.6	88.3%	171 (12.8%)	44 (3.3%)	1,002 (74.8%)	87 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.4%)	30 (2.2%)	45.4	1134^th of 2162 public high schools	47.5%		48.9	1026^th of 2159 public high schools	52.5%	108	24.1	21.9	14.3	22.0	37.8	41.5	33.3	46.8	42.3	25.0	25.3	24.6	23.8	24.4	$42,692	$39,808	$2,884
Magnolia Science Academy 5	Public, Charter	6-12	18238 Sherman Way	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 5 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 705-5676	218	13	16.3	78.4%	13 (6.0%)	4 (1.8%)	183 (83.9%)	15 (6.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	63	740^th of 2162 public high schools	65.8%		71.4	546^th of 2159 public high schools	74.7%	194	25.0		31.3	27.5	46.3	58.6	50.0	62.5	53.4	61.0	55.2	50.0	20.8	49.2	$46,375	$43,982	$2,393
Magnolia Science Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	18238 Sherman Way	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 609-0507	746	39	19.1	86.2%	29 (3.9%)	7 (0.9%)	661 (88.6%)	43 (5.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	52.7	974^th of 2162 public high schools	54.9%		57.5	823^rd of 2159 public high schools	61.9%	151	16.9	30.1		21.6	22.1	34.5	34.4	54.8	34.4	22.8	25.2	24.0	19.7	23.3
Will Rogers Continuation	Public	9-12	14711 Gilmore St.	Van Nuys	91411	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 778-6895	136	9	15.1	98.5%	6 (4.4%)	8 (5.9%)	120 (88.2%)	2 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.4	1896^th of 2162 public high schools	12.3%		9.8	2081^st of 2159 public high schools	3.6%	185		5.9		4.8				14.6	14.6				4.4	4.4	$44,120	$41,846	$2,274

Frequently Asked Questions about Independence Continuation

What is the racial makeup of Independence Continuation?

Students at Independence Continuation are 86% Hispanic, 10% White, 3% African American.

What district is Independence Continuation in?

Los Angeles Unified

Is Independence Continuation a good school?

Independence Continuation ranks in the bottom 17.6% of California high schools.

How many students attend Independence Continuation?

In the 2024-25 school year, 103 students attended Independence Continuation.

Rate Independence Continuation!

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Schools in Lake Balboa, CA

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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.