Amargosa Creek Middle, Lancaster CA

Original Research by School Decision on Amargosa Creek Middle

Amargosa Creek Middle is a traditional public school serving middle grades in Lancaster, a mid-sized high-desert city in northern Los Angeles County where affordable land and aerospace anchors attract commercial growth and where downtown revitalization around The BLVD cultural district now shapes civic life.

The school's academic profile reflects a student body facing substantial learning gaps. Across mathematics, English language arts, and science, proficiency rates are low. In math, sixth-graders show minimal proficiency, seventh-graders reach about one-fifth proficiency, and eighth-graders fall below one-tenth proficient. English language arts performs somewhat better, with sixth-grade proficiency around one-fifth, seventh-grade around one-third, and eighth-grade at roughly one-third. Science proficiency at the eighth-grade level, the only grade tested, sits at about one-sixth. When measured against other districts countywide, the school ranks in the bottom quartile overall. A prior social studies assessment from an earlier era showed around two-fifths of eighth-graders proficient, but that test no longer runs and does not reflect current performance. State testing data for earlier years is not available to show whether these numbers are stable, rising, or falling.

The enrollment is mid-sized for the grade band, split fairly evenly across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. The student population is economically stressed; a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Racially and ethnically, the school serves a diverse mix: roughly two-fifths are white, more than a quarter are Black, and a quarter are Hispanic, along with smaller numbers of Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. The school does not report counts for students with disabilities or English learners, so parents may want to look into whether those populations are present and what supports exist for them.

Lancaster Elementary School District, the parent district, approved a substantial bond measure in November to renovate aging school facilities—many built more than half a century ago—with funding for classroom upgrades, science labs, infrastructure, and technology. This signals recognition of aging plants and commitment to physical improvement, though the work is just beginning and does not directly address academic instruction.

Music is offered. The school's website was not available to review for fuller program offerings or instructional approaches.

Lancaster itself is economically mixed and growing. Housing values are moderate for the region, and the Metrolink station connects residents to greater Los Angeles. The downtown BLVD district has revitalized, and regional employers anchor aerospace, healthcare, and education. Families here face the economic terrain of the high desert and a school where low proficiency rates indicate that students are not meeting grade-level standards in core academics. A parent considering this school should ask the district and school directly about intervention and support strategies, the availability of tutoring or remedial services, and what the school is doing to close these proficiency gaps.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 66%

School 6% · District 10% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 15% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 10% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 24% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 27% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 26% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 14% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 38% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolLancaster 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-income18%Higher-income37%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income59%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income51%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income5%Higher-income15%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income29%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income8%Higher-income16%8 pp gap