Location: Palmdale, CA
Are you a student or parent at Palmdale Aerospace Academy? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Palmdale Aerospace Academy available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Palmdale Aerospace Academy is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Palmdale Aerospace Academy students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Palmdale Aerospace Academy
- Every sports team you can join at Palmdale Aerospace Academy
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Palmdale Aerospace Academy is a public school, supporting grades 0 to 12 . It's located in Palmdale, CA in Los Angeles County.
Based on its location, Palmdale Aerospace Academy is classified as a school in a large suburb. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Palmdale Aerospace Academy38060 20th St. E. Palmdale, CA 93550-4903
Phone number: 6612733680
Palmdale Aerospace Academy homepage: http://www.tpaa.org/
Principal: Laura HermanEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Palmdale Aerospace Academy is 729 students, making it a somewhat large high school, in the top half of all California high schools by size.
As a mid-sized high school, Palmdale Aerospace Academy strikes the balance between size and comfort. There will be enough students to provide a diversity of experiences, like clubs and sports, for you to join. But it'll be small enough that you'll likely get to know most people in your class.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is Palmdale Aerospace Academy growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Palmdale Aerospace Academy has increased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 86 | 68 | 154 |
| 10th grade | 76 | 30 | 106 |
| 11th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12th grade | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 154 students larger than the senior class. This suggests that the school is growing in size and taking on more students.
There are a few reasons this could be happening. The city of Palmdale could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Palmdale Aerospace Academy. Alternatively, Palmdale Aerospace Academy could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Palmdale Aerospace Academy?
From our statistics, Palmdale Aerospace Academy has a 63:37 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large male majority at Palmdale Aerospace Academy, and much more than you would expect from the general population in Los Angeles County. As a result, it'll feel like there are a lot more girls than boys in your classes.
Sometimes this imbalance can result from random chance and may not suggest anything about Palmdale Aerospace Academy. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for males. For example, in our data we find that continuation high schools unfortunately seem to be male-dominated. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract female students, drawing them away from Palmdale Aerospace Academy.
If the male majority is concerning to you, we suggest contacting Palmdale Aerospace Academy administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a gender imbalance. Their phone number is 6612733680.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at Palmdale Aerospace Academy? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Palmdale Aerospace Academy has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as Palmdale Aerospace Academy does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.
The majority of students at Palmdale Aerospace Academy are Hispanic. In California, Hispanic students make up the majority of all students at 51.5%, and are thus the most common ethnicity. Predominantly Hispanic schools are the most common type of homogenous school, and Palmdale Aerospace Academy fits within this category.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.5% | 4 |
| Asian | 3.5% | 26 |
| Hispanic | 74.4% | 543 |
| Black | 11.1% | 81 |
| White | 7.8% | 57 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.2% | 2 |
| Two or more races | 2.1% | 16 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Palmdale. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.
Income Level of Palmdale Aerospace Academy Families
What are the family incomes of students at Palmdale Aerospace Academy? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.
To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.
To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.
The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.
At Palmdale Aerospace Academy, 10.0% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 30.4% qualify for free lunches.
This means Palmdale Aerospace Academy has a low poverty level. The overwhelming majority of students at Palmdale Aerospace Academy don't qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Palmdale is thus likely to be an affluent community, with quite high family incomes.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 73 | 10.0% |
| Free lunches | 222 | 30.4% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 434 | 59.5% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Palmdale and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Palmdale Aerospace Academy is in the middle 50% of schools by income level. Generally, higher income level schools are better-funded and have a higher quality range of classes and activities. Palmdale Aerospace Academy is likely in the middle of the pack in this regard and will give you a good set of options to try.
If you have any interests that Palmdale Aerospace Academy doesn't cover, look to your local community for activities, or to the Internet for self-study AP classes.
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School Safety
How safe is Palmdale Aerospace Academy to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?
To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at Palmdale Aerospace Academy: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.
These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other Palmdale Aerospace Academy students at risk.
Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:
Palmdale Elementary School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guidance Charter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antelope Valley Learning Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Academic Performance
Now we get to a major aspect of assessing a high school: academic performance. How good of an education will you get at Palmdale Aerospace Academy? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Palmdale Aerospace Academy's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Palmdale Aerospace Academy students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.
State Tests
As of 2014, eleventh graders attending Palmdale Aerospace Academy must take standardized tests in English/Language Arts and Math as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). These align with the new Common Core standards and are called the "Smarter Balanced" tests.
If Palmdale Aerospace Academy students meet or exceed state standards, they're academically prepared to graduate high school and go to college. Specifically, we care about the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards. The larger this number, the higher the preparation of students at Palmdale Aerospace Academy.
English/Language Arts
At Palmdale Aerospace Academy, 70% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered good and puts Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the top 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Most Palmdale Aerospace Academy students pass or exceed state standards, though there is also a sizable portion of students who fail to meet state standards.
English/Language Arts Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each ELA area score here.
Math
The other major test taken for state assessments is Math. Across the state, Math performance is generally lower than English/Language Arts performance, so it's natural for this number to be lower.
At Palmdale Aerospace Academy, 37% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Palmdale Aerospace Academy students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
Math Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each Math area score, go here.
Academic Offerings
In addition to the standard high school curriculum, many high schools like Palmdale Aerospace Academy offer advanced coursework as part of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.
Brief Intro to AP/IB
AP and IB courses are designed at the difficulty level of college introductory classes. There are several important benefits to taking advanced coursework at Palmdale Aerospace Academy. First, taking more advanced classes shows colleges that you're committed to challenging yourself academically, and that you're one of the more advanced students at Palmdale Aerospace Academy. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.
Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Palmdale Aerospace Academy AP/IB coursework as college coursework. In some cases, you'll be able to skip introductory-level classes and move to more advanced classes. In other cases, you'll be able to avoid having to take required courses and might even be able to graduate earlier than the standard 4 years. Often this will require you to pass the AP test, getting a score of 3 or above.
So what advanced courses does Palmdale Aerospace Academy offer?
AP Courses
Palmdale Aerospace Academy offers AP courses in 10 subjects.
This is a reasonable number of AP subjects, putting Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the top 50% of California schools that offer AP courses. You'll likely have access to some of the most popular math and humanities AP subjects, as well as a few others.
The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Palmdale Aerospace Academy is missing a large number of subjects, including some popular ones. If there are any AP courses you want to take that aren't being offered at Palmdale Aerospace Academy, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap.
Of course, keep in mind that quality matters even more than quantity - even if Palmdale Aerospace Academy doesn't offer every AP course under the sun, the classes might still be taught very well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.
The following AP courses were offered at Palmdale Aerospace Academy during 2015-2016:
| Course Title |
|---|
| Calculus AB |
| Calculus BC |
| English Language and Composition |
| English Literature and Composition |
| Environmental Science |
| European History |
| Spanish Language and Culture |
| Statistics |
| United States Government and Politics |
| United States History |
Sports Teams
Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Palmdale Aerospace Academy. Sports are an integral part of many students' high school experiences. The more sports that are available, and the more levels supported (Frosh, JV, Varsity), the more likely you'll be able to participate in a sport at Palmdale Aerospace Academy.
By the way, the Palmdale Aerospace Academy mascot is the Griffins. Go Griffins!
Palmdale Aerospace Academy fields 7 teams for girls' sports. This is a low number that puts Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer girls' sports. This is understandable - sports teams are expensive to support, and many schools would rather support other programs with their limited resources. If you play a sport that Palmdale Aerospace Academy doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.
And now for the boys: Palmdale Aerospace Academy fields 11 teams for boys' sports. This relatively number puts Palmdale Aerospace Academy in the bottom 50% of California schools that offer boys' sports. Sports teams are expensive to support, and Palmdale Aerospace Academy may not be able to offer the full range of options. If you participate in a sport that Palmdale Aerospace Academy doesn't offer, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.
| Boys Teams | Girls Teams |
|---|---|
| Soccer
Var
JV
|
Soccer
Var
JV
|
| Crosscountry
Var
JV
|
Crosscountry
Var
JV
|
| Basketball
Var
JV
Fr
|
Basketball
Var
|
| Volleyball
Var
JV
Fr
|
Volleyball
JV
|
| Trackfield
JV
|
Trackfield
JV
|
What’s Next?
Want to get more useful information about high school classes and preparing for colleges? Our blog has a ton of articles and advice on topics ranging from coursework and GPA to letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and much more!
Ready to bulk up your schedule and maximize your college preparedness? Read all about the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Not quite in high school yet, but eager to get started? We've also got information for younger students interested in advanced learning opportunities, both in and out of school.
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Sources
The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):
- National Center for Educational Statistics CCD 2013-2014
- "Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?", NCES Blog
- CRDC 2011-2012 school year data
- California Department of Education SAT, ACT, and AP Test Results
- California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Results
- IBO.org