West Boron Elementary, Boron CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on West Boron Elementary

West Boron Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Boron, a small high-desert mining town on the western edge of the Mojave Desert in unincorporated Kern County. The school enrolls a modest population of students from a community shaped by borax mining, Edwards Air Force Base, and nearby solar development. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with roughly equal shares of Hispanic and white students, a smaller share of Black students, and a small Asian population. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of a blue-collar mining and service-sector community.

State test results from the most recent year show low proficiency across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the low single digits in grades four and six to around the low forties in grade three, with a school-wide rate in the mid-teens. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower, ranging from single digits in grades five and six to around thirty percent in grade three, with a school-wide rate around thirteen percent. Science proficiency, measured only in grade five, is in the single digits. These results place West Boron Elementary in the bottom quartile of Kern County school sites on overall proficiency. Only one year of recent data is available, so trend information is not yet accessible. A parent may want to look into what supports the school has put in place to address these proficiency gaps and what curriculum or instructional changes are underway.

The school is part of Muroc Joint Unified School District, which operates across a large geographic area spanning Boron, North Edwards, and Edwards Air Force Base. In 2022, district voters approved a facilities bond that funded improvements to heating, air conditioning, safety systems, and technology access at Boron schools, including West Boron Elementary. The district has also earned California's Purple Star designation at all its schools, a recognition for supporting military-connected students and families. All Muroc schools have access to dedicated transition services for military families, which may be relevant to families connected to the air base.

Boron itself is a town with deep ties to a single industry. The Rio Tinto borax mine, one of the world's largest, sits just north of town and is the primary employer for the community. The town's population has remained relatively flat over recent decades, and younger residents have historically left for opportunities elsewhere as mine automation reduced jobs. More recently, large-scale solar energy projects nearby have reshaped the landscape, raising some resident concerns about the town's future development. Housing in the zip code is modest in value relative to state and national benchmarks, making it an affordable option for families seeking to live and work in the region. The school's location within walking or short-drive distance of Boron's downtown provides access to the public library, museums, and small-town civic life centered on 20 Mule Team Road.

The immediate academic need at West Boron is clear from the state test results, and parents considering this school should feel comfortable asking the school and district directly about intervention strategies, whether reading and math supports are embedded in regular instruction, how the district is using its recent bond funding to support student learning, and what the school's trajectory looks like in coming years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 38% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 12% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 22% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 34% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 43% · ▼ 28 pts below district

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

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 27% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 30% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 17% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

This schoolMuroc Joint Unified, 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 5Lower-income14%Higher-income27%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income0%Higher-income18%18 pp gap