Discovery, Lancaster CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Discovery

Discovery is a public elementary school in Lancaster, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits in Lancaster, a mid-sized charter city in the high-desert Antelope Valley region of northern Los Angeles County, a diverse and growing area anchored by aerospace, military, healthcare, and industrial sectors. The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with a large majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of its neighborhood.

The school's academic performance in the most recent state testing data shows proficiency rates that are materially below state standards in both English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency ranges from the low-to-mid point in grade three, improves slightly in grade four, and declines to the low-to-mid point again in grade five. In mathematics, results are similar or slightly lower, with proficiency lowest at grade five. Science proficiency at grade five is also low. When proficiency across all tested grades and subjects is averaged together, Discovery ranks in the bottom quartile of the comparison group of schools within Los Angeles County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place, what the school's instructional priorities are, and how families can partner at home.

Data on the school's special education enrollment and English learner population was not available in the records reviewed. The school's racial and ethnic makeup reflects Lancaster's diversity, with roughly one-third Hispanic students, one-third white students, one-fifth Black students, and smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

Lancaster Elementary, the school's parent district, recently sought and won voter approval for a general obligation bond to address aging school facilities across the district. Many of the district's schools were built decades ago, and the bond will fund structural repairs, upgrades to classrooms and science labs, and improvements to instructional technology and infrastructure. This investment signals an effort to improve the physical learning environment, though it will take time to complete such work.

The community itself is in transition. The downtown corridor has seen targeted revitalization centered on The BLVD, a tree-lined mixed-use district that now anchors civic and cultural life for the city. The broader Lancaster area is car-dependent and primarily residential and commercial in character. Housing values in the zip code are below the California state average and well below the national median, and rents likewise remain relatively affordable. The area benefits from regional transit options, including Metrolink service to Los Angeles and bus connections through the Antelope Valley Transit Authority. Major employers in the region include aerospace firms, Edwards Air Force Base, the hospital system, school districts, and retail.

Discovery's placement and size suggest it serves a neighborhood-based, working-family population. For parents considering this school, the immediate questions to explore are how the school is addressing the proficiency gaps in foundational literacy and numeracy, what instructional approaches are in use, how the school communicates with families about progress, and what resources are available for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks. The pending facilities improvements may also be worth asking about in terms of timeline and scope.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 321%

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

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 17% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 11%

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

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 24% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 25% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 15% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 38% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above 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 3Lower-income23%Higher-income36%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income44%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income100%Higher-income92%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income89%Higher-income100%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income94%Higher-income100%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income20%Higher-income27%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income13%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income51%Higher-income67%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income66%Higher-income77%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income73%23 pp gap