Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Summary:

Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy is a public middle school located in Palmdale, California, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 974 students. The school is part of the Palmdale Elementary District, which is ranked 1346 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being a magnet school, Desert Willow consistently performs below the Palmdale Elementary district and the state of California in standardized test scores across English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. For example, in 2023-2024, only 28.68% of Desert Willow students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 27.55% for the Palmdale Elementary district and 47.04% for the state. The school's performance is particularly low in Mathematics, with only 11.05% of students proficient or better in 2023-2024, compared to 16.62% for the district and 35.54% for the state. Desert Willow's performance is also below the nearby magnet schools, such as David G. Millen Law and Government Magnet Academy, Shadow Hills Engineering and Design Magnet Academy, and Cactus Medical Health and Technology Magnet Academy.

Desert Willow also faces challenges with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 11.8% in 2020-2021 to 17.6% in 2018-2019, which is significantly higher than the state average and the nearby magnet schools. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 87.28% to 89.14% in recent years, indicating a high concentration of students from low-income families. The relatively high student-teacher ratio at Desert Willow, ranging from 20.1 to 21.7 in recent years, may also be a contributing factor to the school's low academic performance.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 36555 Sunny Ln.
       Palmdale, CA  93550-1019


(661) 285-5866

District: Palmdale Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
2290th of 2,777 California Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $221 Help


Feeder schools for Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy:

Elementary:    Barrel Springs Elementary
    Buena Vista Elementary
    Cimarron Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  21.7 Help
Number of students:  974

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
75.9%
African American:
15.3%
White:
5.1%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  88% Help


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 Compare Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy ranks worse than 82.5% of middle schools in California. It also ranks 2nd among 5 ranked middle schools in the Palmdale Elementary School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 19.06. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy has the largest middle school student body size in the Palmdale Elementary School District.  (See more...)
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy is $221. 3 middle schools in the Palmdale Elementary School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy 2290th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Palmdale Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Palmdale Elementary 1346th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

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Rank History for all students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2007 21.11 1617th 1999 19.1%
2008 19.87 1681st 2005 16.2%
2009 25.27 1594th 2063 22.7%
2010 26.65 1676th 2179 23.1%
2011 24.14 1796th 2236 19.7%
2012 23.23 1837th 2259 18.7%
2013 19.24 2029th 2379 14.7%
2015 20.32 2013th 2477 18.7%
2016 20.94 1988th 2497 20.4%
2017 15.68 2196th 2508 12.4%
2018 17.74 2082nd 2480 16.0%
2019 16.47 2331st 2715 14.1%
2022 17.95 2309th 2740 15.7%
2023 21.10 2216th 2802 20.9%
2024 19.06 2290th 2777 17.5%
See the entire list of California Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 28.44 1076th 1364 21.1%
2019 27.61 1253rd 1442 13.1%
2022 32.77 1100th 1540 28.6%
2023 40.11 771st 1529 49.6%
2024 24.48 1437th 1477 2.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 28.23 1142nd 1538 25.7%
2024 25.26 1264th 1550 18.5%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 23.80 1782nd 2230 20.1%
2019 21.24 1987th 2369 16.1%
2022 23.33 1979th 2458 19.5%
2023 26.63 1901st 2549 25.4%
2024 22.99 2061st 2575 20.0%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.31 1835th 2262 18.9%
2019 16.42 2060th 2380 13.4%
2022 20.40 2058th 2509 18.0%
2023 24.62 1907th 2547 25.1%
2024 20.07 2086th 2546 18.1%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 21.23 1273rd 1369 7.0%
2019 23.48 1281st 1491 14.1%
2022 18.42 1499th 1531 2.1%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 14.59 2063rd 2273 9.2%
2019 16.41 2114th 2407 12.2%
2022 16.00 2253rd 2527 10.8%
2023 18.02 2194th 2558 14.2%
2024 17.95 2168th 2547 14.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.29 521st 600 13.2%
2019 19.94 567th 643 11.8%
2022 22.18 538th 637 15.5%
2023 29.66 443rd 614 27.9%
2024 29.55 450th 626 28.1%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 26.48 1572nd 2072 24.1%
2019 24.74 1720th 2213 22.3%
2022 25.40 1807th 2359 23.4%
2023 28.43 1706th 2391 28.6%
2024 22.81 1900th 2383 20.3%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 12.16 1357th 1496 9.3%
2019 8.33 1505th 1602 6.1%
2022 24.25 1195th 1555 23.2%
2023 42.09 879th 1552 43.4%
2024 50.12 742nd 1535 51.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2005 96 95 13 241 2 n/a n/a 5 452
2006 169 213 24 409 3 n/a n/a 22 840
2007 182 201 24 496 2 n/a n/a 24 929
2008 116 170 16 538 4 n/a n/a 0 844
2009 117 163 14 529 2 0 16 0 841
2010 126 147 20 551 5 0 10 0 859
2011 108 165 18 660 4 1 15 0 971
2012 77 140 10 547 4 2 20 0 800
2013 49 93 6 452 3 0 17 0 620
2014 31 105 8 350 4 1 11 0 510
2015 42 146 13 426 10 2 5 0 644
2016 41 154 21 431 13 1 3 0 664
2017 51 129 12 459 8 1 6 0 666
2018 44 133 6 679 4 5 10 0 881
2019 44 155 7 724 10 5 9 0 954
2020 53 161 7 749 6 1 11 0 988
2021 47 167 9 724 3 2 15 0 967
2022 52 150 10 671 4 4 11 0 902
2023 50 149 9 739 6 5 16 0 974

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2005 452 21.0 21.5 0
2006 840 36.0 23.3 61.1
2007 929 35.0 26.5 67
2008 844 43.0 19.6 60
2009 841 38.0 19.3 64.4
2010 859 36.0 23.8 65.4
2011 971 n/a n/a 65.9
2012 800 37.0 21.5 n/a
2013 620 28.5 21.7 80.6
2014 510 28.9 17.6 88.4
2015 644 29.0 22.2 82.8
2016 664 32.0 20.7 84.3
2017 666 34.8 19.1 82.3
2018 881 40.8 21.5 84.4
2019 954 41.8 22.8 84.3
2020 988 n/a n/a 92.1
2021 967 44.5 21.7 87.3
2022 902 44.8 20.1 89.1
2023 974 44.6 21.7 88

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2005 452 21.0 21.5 0
2006 840 36.0 23.3 61.1
2007 929 35.0 26.5 67
2008 844 43.0 19.6 60
2009 841 38.0 19.3 64.4
2010 859 36.0 23.8 65.4
2011 971 n/a n/a 65.9
2012 800 37.0 21.5 n/a
2013 620 28.5 21.7 80.6
2014 510 28.9 17.6 88.4
2015 644 29.0 22.2 82.8
2016 664 32.0 20.7 84.3
2017 666 34.8 19.1 82.3
2018 881 40.8 21.5 84.4
2019 954 41.8 22.8 84.3
2020 988 n/a n/a 92.1
2021 967 44.5 21.7 87.3
2022 902 44.8 20.1 89.1
2023 974 44.6 21.7 88

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2018 $221

Data source: California Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 2331st of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 2216th of 2802 Middle schools
 6.8%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)28.525
 3.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Palmdale Elementary)25.124.4
 0.7%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)48.544.2
 4.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)13.613.4
 0.2%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Palmdale Elementary)11.711.4
 0.3%
   6th Grade Mathematics (California)38.533.2
 5.3%
7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)32.235.9
 3.7%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Palmdale Elementary)30.830.9
 0.2%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)51.447.4
 3.9%
7th Grade Mathematics (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)13.815.1
 1.3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Palmdale Elementary)17.114.5
 2.6%
   7th Grade Mathematics (California)37.933.2
 4.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)31.130.8
 0.3%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Palmdale Elementary)32.530.1
 2.5%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)12.36.9
 5.4%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Palmdale Elementary)15.210.7
 4.6%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy)9.79.8
 0.1%
   8th Grade Science (Palmdale Elementary)11.912.8
 0.9%
   8th Grade Science (California)30.828.8
 2.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students954974
 2.1%
African American155149
 3.9%
American Indian106
 40%
Asian79
 28.6%
Hispanic724739
 2.1%
Pacific Islander55
White4450
 13.6%
Two or More Races916
 77.8%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients84.3%88%
 3.7%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy

In the 2022-23 school year, 974 students attended Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy.

Students at Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy are 76% Hispanic, 15% African American, 5% White, 2% Two or more races.

Desert Willow Fine Arts Sci and Technical Magnet Academy ranks in the bottom 17.5% of California middle schools.


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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.





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