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3.2 avg / 10

Apple Valley Unified School District

School District · Apple Valley, California

Students: 13,756
Teachers (FTE): 577

Avg Rating

3.2

out of 10

Schools

14

11 elem, 2 high

Per-Pupil Spending

$12,735

Student-Teacher Ratio

23.8:1

District shortlistschools + peers

Evaluating Apple Valley Unified?

A district shares budget, policy, and attendance zones across its schools — use this page to judge Apple Valley Unified as a whole, then compare how its individual schools differ.

Shortlist starter

Start with these real page-level signals, then use the full table and map below.

Granite Hills High

4.6/10

Apple Valley · High. Compare this profile against district averages, level fit, and attendance-zone reality below.

High Desert Premier Academy

4.5/10

Apple Valley · Other. Compare this profile against district averages, level fit, and attendance-zone reality below.

Apple Valley High

4.3/10

Apple Valley · High. Compare this profile against district averages, level fit, and attendance-zone reality below.

How this district compares

California rank

#711 of 713

districts by avg. composite

Vs. state average

-3.1

below California avg

Per-pupil spending

$12,735

$4,912 vs California median

District size

13,756 students

Much larger than California median

The short answer

Apple Valley Unified ranks #711 of 713 California districts by overall school rating. Apple Valley Unified's schools with real test data average 3.2/10 across 13 schools. Its top-rated schools are Granite Hills High (4.6/10), High Desert Premier Academy (4.5/10), and Apple Valley High (4.3/10). Schools with estimated (proxy) scores are excluded from this ranking.

Best value · beats the odds
High Desert Premier Academy

Rates 4.5/10 despite 81% of students being economically disadvantaged. That's about 1.5 points higher than its student-poverty level predicts. Roughly as clean a case of strong results without an affluent-ZIP price tag as you'll find among Apple Valley Unified schools.

Most improved · 2022 → 2024
Yucca Loma Elementary

STAAR proficiency rose +4.4 points from 2022 to 2024. That's the biggest jump among Apple Valley Unified schools across the two most recent comparable testing years.

Top-Rated Schools in Apple Valley Unified

Ranked by MySchoolScout composite rating using only schools with real test data (13 of 14). "Value" = points above what student poverty predicts. Estimated (proxy) scores are excluded.

# School Rating
1 Granite Hills High 4.6 / 10
2 High Desert Premier Academy 4.5 / 10
3 Apple Valley High 4.3 / 10
4 Sitting Bull Academy 3.9 / 10
5 Vanguard Preparatory 3.5 / 10
6 Mariana Academy 3.1 / 10
7 Phoenix Academy 2.8 / 10
8 Rio Vista School of Applied Learning 2.8 / 10
9 Sycamore Rocks Elementary 2.6 / 10
10 Yucca Loma Elementary 2.6 / 10

See all 14 schools — including those with estimated data — in the full directory below. How we rate schools.

About Apple Valley Unified

Apple Valley Unified is a Apple Valley, California school district serving 14 schools. The district educates 13,756 students with a student-teacher ratio of 23.8:1. The district invests $12,735 per student annually.

With an average rating of 3.2/10, Apple Valley Unified has schools with varying levels of academic achievement.

The highest-rated school in the district is Granite Hills High, which has a composite score of 4.6/10.

In standardized testing, Apple Valley Unified students show an average math proficiency of 27.1% and ELA proficiency of 36.6%.

The district includes 11 elementary schools , and 2 high schools.

District Map

Schools in Apple Valley Unified, colored by MySchoolScout rank. Click a pin for details.

District Average Test Scores

Math Proficiency 27.1%
School
State
N/A
ELA Proficiency 36.6%
School
State
N/A

Average proficiency across all schools in Apple Valley Unified with test data.

District Details

City
Apple Valley
Total Enrollment
13,756
Teachers (FTE)
577
Child Poverty Rate
0.2%
Data Year
2023

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools are in Apple Valley Unified?

Apple Valley Unified has 14 schools in total — 11 elementary, and 2 high schools. You can explore each school's ratings and details on this page.

What is the average rating for Apple Valley Unified?

The average composite rating for Apple Valley Unified is 3.2/10. This score is calculated from the individual ratings of all schools with academic data in the district.

What is the per-pupil spending in Apple Valley Unified?

Apple Valley Unified spends $12,735 per student per year.

What is the student-teacher ratio in Apple Valley Unified?

The average student-teacher ratio in Apple Valley Unified is 23.8:1.

What is the top-rated school in Apple Valley Unified?

Granite Hills High is the highest-rated school in Apple Valley Unified with a composite score of 4.6/10.

What are the test scores in Apple Valley Unified?

Across schools in Apple Valley Unified with test data, the average math proficiency is 27.1% and the average ELA (reading/writing) proficiency is 36.6%. These figures represent the percentage of students meeting or exceeding grade-level standards.

How does Apple Valley Unified compare to other districts in California?

Apple Valley Unified has an average school rating of 3.2/10 across 14 schools. Families can compare this to other districts in California by visiting individual district pages. Factors like school size, available programs, and community demographics also play a role in choosing the right fit.

How does MySchoolScout rate schools?

MySchoolScout ratings blend student growth, poverty-adjusted academic performance, and learning environment — plus college readiness for high schools. Weights vary by school level, and equity data is shown for context without being factored into the score. Learn more about our rating system on our methodology page.

District Averages

Overall Rating
3.2/10
Math Proficiency
27.1%
ELA Proficiency
36.6%

How we rate schools

A clear 1–10 score built from public data — growth, academics, and learning environment. No hidden criteria, no pay-to-play.

See how we rate

Data from NCES Common Core of Data, California Dept. of Education, and U.S. Census ACS for the 2023–24 school year. Rankings computed by MySchoolScout. See all data sources.

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