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Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy

Public Grades 6-8

2409^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 13% of California middle schools

Summary

Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy is a public middle school serving about 750 students in grades 6-8 within the Palmdale Elementary School District, which ranks in the bottom 15% of all districts in California.

The school faces significant challenges, particularly with chronic absenteeism, which at 39.2% is the highest among its district peers like Shadow Hills Engineering and Design Magnet Academy and Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy. Academic proficiency is low, with only about 12% of students proficient in math and 26% in English, placing it near the bottom of state rankings. Interestingly, the school has the most favorable student-teacher ratio and the highest per-student spending in its district, yet these resources have not translated into stronger academic outcomes.

Despite these struggles, the school shows some signs of recent improvement in its statewide ranking. A notable comparison is with Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering, a school 7 miles away in the Lancaster Elementary district that serves a similarly economically disadvantaged population but achieves much higher test scores and has a very low absenteeism rate, demonstrating that different approaches can yield different results.

747

Students ?

19.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$31,172

Per pupil spending ?

90.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

38060 20th St. East
Palmdale, CA 93550-4903

(661) 537-6101

District: Palmdale Elementary

Students who attend Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy usually attend:

High:

Palmdale High

Feeder schools for Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy:

Elementary:	Tamarisk Elementary
	Tumbleweed Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

75.2%

African American:

17.4%

White:

3.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2019 → 13th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (18% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg23%

California avg41%

2,409^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 13%▲ up 8 pts since 2019

From bottom 4% (2019) to bottom 13% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 5Middle Schools in the Palmdale Elementary

1309^th of 1,543Palmdale Elementary 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	15.6	2409 of 2761	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	2639 of 2783	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	2617 of 2781	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.3	2561 of 2740	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.3	2599 of 2715	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.4	549 of 609	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.9	600 of 627	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	557 of 613	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.9	605 of 637	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.8	607 of 643	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	23.4	1323 of 1531	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	1378 of 1491	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	27.5	1360 of 1478	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.5	1389 of 1521	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	31.5	1177 of 1540	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.7	1383 of 1442	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.9	2303 of 2533	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.2	2489 of 2551	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.7	2373 of 2531	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.1	2373 of 2509	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.5	2329 of 2380	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.0	1907 of 2395	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.6	2190 of 2388	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	2153 of 2374	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	2151 of 2359	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.2	2117 of 2213	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	2196 of 2542	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.7	2431 of 2579	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	2373 of 2531	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	2261 of 2458	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	2252 of 2369	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.5	2176 of 2534	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.3	2363 of 2552	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.6	2412 of 2538	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.4	2355 of 2527	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.8	2325 of 2407	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.1	1139 of 1566	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	1430 of 1552	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	23.4	1329 of 1531	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	8.4	1504 of 1602	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)27th percentile+15 vs school

Hispanic (2025)20th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2025)14th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)14th percentile+7 vs school

African American (2025)10th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)9th percentile-4 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)8th percentile+3 vs school

White (2019)6th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy26%-22 vs state

Mathematics12%-25 vs state

Science9%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet 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 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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	38060 20th St. East	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 537-6101	747	38	19.4	90.2%	25 (3.3%)	130 (17.4%)	562 (75.2%)	5 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	4 (0.5%)	18 (2.4%)	15.6	2409^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.7%		10.9	2639^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.2%	230		8.8	8.8		22.1	26.1	31.0	26.5		16.1	8.3	12.3	12.4	$31,172	$29,844	$1,328
Cactus Medical Health and Technology Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	3243 East Ave. R-8	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 273-0847	822	40	20.7	89.3%	33 (4.0%)	119 (14.5%)	643 (78.2%)	8 (1.0%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.6%)	15.2	2429^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.0%		15	2477^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.0%	48		7.5	7.5		22.7	34.7	25.1	27.8		7.7	13.9	8.8	10.3	$27,163	$26,118	$1,045
Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	36555 Sunny Ln.	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 285-5866	948	44	21.5	89.7%	36 (3.8%)	125 (13.2%)	754 (79.5%)	9 (0.9%)	8 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (1.6%)	17	2353^rd of 2761 public middle schools	14.8%		19.1	2295^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.5%	58		10.7	10.7		26.6	30.5	33.2	30.5		8.2	8.5	12.7	10.0	$25,741	$24,618	$1,123
Shadow Hills Engineering and Design Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	37315 60th St. East	Palmdale	93552	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 533-7400	813	37	22.0	83.0%	20 (2.5%)	144 (17.7%)	618 (76.0%)	13 (1.6%)	5 (0.6%)	3 (0.4%)	10 (1.2%)	21.2	2177^th of 2761 public middle schools	21.2%		21.2	2210^th of 2783 public middle schools	20.6%	33		14.4	14.4		25.5	34.6	28.0	29.5		23.7	15.6	13.4	17.6	$27,343	$26,104	$1,239
David G. Millen Law and Government Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	39221 22nd St. West	Palmdale	93551	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 947-3075	952	42	22.7	75.3%	46 (4.8%)	187 (19.6%)	659 (69.2%)	24 (2.5%)	5 (0.5%)	5 (0.5%)	26 (2.7%)	15.4	2417^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.5%		17.1	2390^th of 2783 public middle schools	14.1%	27		12.8	12.8		23.0	25.4	27.2	25.4		12.1	13.7	10.3	11.9	$25,534	$24,300	$1,234
New Vista Middle	Public	6-8	753 East Avenue K-2	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 726-4271	835	46	18.1	91.3%	38 (4.6%)	312 (37.4%)	450 (53.9%)	8 (1.0%)	6 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	20 (2.4%)	7.6	2690^th of 2761 public middle schools	2.6%		9.1	2692^nd of 2783 public middle schools	3.3%	2		4.4	4.4		14.0	14.4	15.9	14.8		4.1	8.6	3.8	5.6	$8,509	$6,032	$2,477
Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering	Public	6-8	831 East Ave. K-2	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 899-7836	414	13	31.9	76.6%	42 (10.1%)	71 (17.1%)	272 (65.7%)	9 (2.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.1%)	64.9	790^th of 2761 public middle schools	71.4%		76.6	552^nd of 2783 public middle schools	80.2%	238		38.6	38.6		51.4	60.9	59.9	57.3		25.0	45.1	43.2	37.5	$3,768	$1,422	$2,346
Hillview Middle	Public	6-8	40525 Peonza Ln.	Palmdale	93551	Los Angeles County	Westside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 722-9993	1,100	45	24.6	53.0%	214 (19.5%)	108 (9.8%)	648 (58.9%)	60 (5.5%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	62 (5.6%)	55.9	1009^th of 2761 public middle schools	63.5%		53.8	1046^th of 2783 public middle schools	62.4%	37		32.5	32.5		87.5	53.3	43.9	52.4		78.4	32.7	31.7	36.2	$19,669	$18,596	$1,073
High Desert	Public	5-8	3620 Antelope Woods Rd.	Acton	93510	Los Angeles County	Acton-Agua Dulce Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 269-0310	307	14	21.6	71.3%	112 (36.5%)	6 (2.0%)	179 (58.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	25.1	1994^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.8%		26.8	1963^rd of 2783 public middle schools	29.5%	31	20.2	15.1	17.8	28.6	29.9	36.1	34.3	32.2	17.9	22.4	22.9	12.3	18.9	$10,596	$4,710	$5,886
Gifford C. Cole Middle	Public	7-8	3126 East Avenue I	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-1041	697	33	21.3	82.1%	31 (4.4%)	156 (22.4%)	471 (67.6%)	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (4.3%)	12.1	2546^th of 2761 public middle schools	7.8%		16.4	2421^st of 2783 public middle schools	13.0%	125		9.5	9.5			21.0	25.8	23.5			8.5	6.3	7.3	$22,954	$20,562	$2,392

Frequently Asked Questions about Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy

How many students attend Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 747 students attended Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy.

Is Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy a good school?

Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy ranks in the bottom 12.7% of California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy?

Students at Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy are 75% Hispanic, 17% African American, 3% White, 2% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy attend?

Students who attend Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy usually go on to attend Palmdale High

What district is Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy in?

Palmdale Elementary

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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.