Summary:
ZIP code 93523 has three schools serving kindergarten through grade 12: William A. Bailey Elementary (K–2), Irving L. Branch Elementary (grades 3–6), and Desert Junior-Senior High (grades 7–12), with 1,251 students combined; the most important finding is that every reported grade-level test result is below its corresponding state figure.
The reported 2025–26 All Grades results show different schools leading by subject: Desert’s ELA result is 43%, compared with Branch’s 38%, while Branch leads Desert in math, 30% to 16%, and science, 32% to 26%. Both tested schools are below the state in all three subjects: ELA gaps are 7 points for Desert and 11 for Branch; math gaps are 22 and 8 points, respectively; science gaps are 10 and 4 points. Bailey has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 11%, below Branch at 13%, Desert at 29%, and the state at 18%. Because the tested schools serve different grade spans, their All Grades results are not grade-matched comparisons; Bailey has no supplied test scores.
Recent changes are mixed: Branch’s science result rose 12 points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, but its ELA fell 2 points and math was essentially unchanged; Desert’s science rose 3 points and math 1, while ELA fell 2. SchoolDigger’s rankings also slipped over the latest three listed years: Desert moved from the 60th to the 49th percentile, and Branch from the 44th to the 39th. Class-size context differs, too: student-teacher ratios are 16.4 at Desert, 23.5 at Branch, and 17.4 at Bailey. For 2024–25, the free/reduced lunch eligible measure was 13% at Desert, 17% at Branch, and 15% at Bailey; these figures describe reported context, not a reason for test outcomes. SchoolDigger rates Muroc Joint Unified at the 16th percentile, with one star.
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