Keppel Academy, Littlerock CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Keppel Academy

Keppel Academy is a middle school serving grades five through eight in Littlerock, a small rural community in the Antelope Valley of Los Angeles County. The school enrolls a small student body, about three-quarters of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with small shares of white and other students. The school does not report data on special education enrollment or English learner status.

In the most recent state testing, Keppel Academy's students showed consistently low proficiency across tested subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranged from roughly a quarter of students meeting standards in grades six and eight, to somewhat higher performance in grade five. In mathematics, performance was similarly modest across all grades, declining from grade five through grade seven and holding flat in grade eight. Science results, reported for only grades five and eight, showed proficiency at similar or lower levels than the core subjects. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other schools serving grades five through eight within Los Angeles County. While these are low numbers, a parent may want to look further into the school's efforts around literacy and numeracy support, particularly in the upper middle grades where proficiency drops most sharply.

Littlerock itself is a quiet, agricultural-rooted community oriented toward family living. The area is car-dependent; homes are predominantly single-family ranch-style houses built mostly in the 1980s on small to large lots. Residents drive to nearby Palmdale for full grocery and retail options. The main corridor is Pearblossom Highway, which carries local shops, restaurants, and a library. The broader region has seen only modest recent growth; development consists mainly of individual parcels and custom homes rather than large subdivisions. Housing values in the 93543 zip code are moderate for Los Angeles County, though the median home value is nonetheless above five times the typical household income, making affordability tight for families not already established.

The Keppel Union Elementary School District, which operates Keppel Academy, experienced significant governance turbulence in late 2023 when the school board terminated the superintendent without cause, triggering parent and staff protests and a recall effort against two board members. The leadership instability that followed, while later stabilized with an acting superintendent, may be relevant to families considering the school's continuity and direction. Beyond this governance event, no other major strategic initiatives or programmatic changes were publicly available at the time of reporting.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 17% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 20% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 13% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 10% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 25% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 26% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 19% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 19% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 12% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 34% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolKeppel Union Elementary, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income41%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income27%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income8%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income35%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income9%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income8%9 pp gap