Valley Academy

Summary:

Valley Academy is an alternative public school located in El Centro, California, serving grades K-12 with a total enrollment of 159 students. The school is part of the Imperial County Office of Education district, which is ranked 1470 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Valley Academy faces significant challenges in terms of student engagement, academic achievement, and college/career readiness. The school has consistently low four-year graduation rates, ranging from 36.2% to 59.6%, which is significantly lower than the state average of around 85%. Correspondingly, Valley Academy has had high dropout rates, ranging from 15.9% to 51.3%, much higher than the state average of around 10%. The school also struggles with very high chronic absenteeism rates, more than double the state average. Academically, Valley Academy's proficiency rates on standardized tests are significantly lower than the state and county averages, with only 10% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 0% meeting or exceeding standards in mathematics.

When compared to the two other nearby alternative schools in the same district, Imperial County Special Education and Imperial County Juvenile Hall/Community, Valley Academy's performance is generally on par or slightly better. However, all three schools struggle with very low academic achievement and high rates of chronic absenteeism. In contrast, the nearby Freedom Academy of Imperial Valley, a public virtual school in the Holtville Unified School District, has significantly better academic performance than Valley Academy, suggesting that the challenges faced by Valley Academy may be specific to the school or district, rather than just the alternative school model.


Detail:

Public, Alternative K-12

 253 East Ross Ave.
       El Centro, CA  92243-9797


(760) 312-5525

District: Imperial County Office of Education

SchoolDigger Rank:
2652nd of 2,777 California Alternative Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $6,370 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  18.7 Help
Number of students:  219

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
95.9%
White:
2.3%
African American:
0.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  96.8% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Valley Academy ranks worse than 95.5% of middle schools in California. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.21. (See more...)
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Compare Details Valley Academy ranks worse than 89% of high schools in California. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 9.29. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Valley Academy who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
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Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (95.9%), White (2.3%), African American (0.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 96.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Imperial County Office of Education School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Valley Academy is 18.7, which is the highest among 3 alternative schools in the Imperial County Office of Education School District! (See more...)
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Compare Valley Academy employs 11.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Valley Academy is $6,370, which is the lowest among 3 alternative schools in the Imperial County Office of Education School District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Valley Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks Valley Academy 2652nd of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Valley Academy in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:

SchoolDigger ranks Valley Academy 2068th of 2323 California public high schools. (See Valley Academy in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:


Imperial County Office of Education:

SchoolDigger ranks Imperial County Office of Education 1470th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Valley Academy

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Rank History for all middle school students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 6.67 2631st 2715 3.1%
2023 7.23 2762nd 2802 1.4%
2024 10.21 2652nd 2777 4.5%
See the entire list of California Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 6.71 2318th 2369 2.2%
2023 10.76 2469th 2549 3.1%
2024 16.02 2317th 2575 10.0%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 8.64 2327th 2407 3.3%
2023 9.08 2499th 2558 2.3%
2024 17.30 2189th 2547 14.1%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 7.10 2166th 2213 2.1%
2023 9.61 2331st 2391 2.5%
2024 10.93 2290th 2383 3.9%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Valley Academy

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Rank History for all high school students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 11.40 1740th 2021 13.9%
2018 11.48 1729th 2017 14.3%
2019 11.08 1972nd 2133 7.5%
2022 10.54 2023rd 2123 4.7%
2023 13.31 1891st 2348 19.5%
2024 9.29 2068th 2323 11.0%
See the entire list of California Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for high school English Language Learner students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 25.57 899th 941 4.5%
2023 28.91 856th 1323 35.3%
2024 22.09 1237th 1350 8.4%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for high school Special Education students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 23.36 1232nd 1547 20.4%
2024 23.92 1211th 1534 21.1%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for high school Low Socio Economic Status students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 11.74 1611th 1862 13.5%
2019 10.84 1814th 1937 6.4%
2022 11.10 1842nd 1943 5.2%
2023 16.50 1751st 2247 22.1%
2024 10.35 1956th 2235 12.5%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for high school Female students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 9.52 1547th 1760 12.1%
2019 6.45 1832nd 1833 0.1%
2023 8.78 1965th 2118 7.2%
2024 8.06 1956th 2098 6.8%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for high school Male students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.84 1624th 1834 11.5%
2019 13.01 1622nd 1880 13.7%
2022 10.31 1835th 1916 4.2%
2023 13.46 1791st 2207 18.8%
2024 10.38 1873rd 2172 13.8%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for high school Hispanic students at Valley Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 11.89 1472nd 1742 15.5%
2019 11.20 1665th 1814 8.2%
2022 10.87 1749th 1861 6.0%
2023 16.62 1669th 2142 22.1%
2024 9.60 1880th 2125 11.5%
See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Valley Academy Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 







Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Valley Academy

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2015 8 3 1 173 0 1 5 0 191
2016 9 1 0 195 0 1 3 0 209
2017 8 2 1 196 0 0 2 0 209
2018 3 2 0 183 0 0 3 0 191
2019 4 0 0 163 0 0 3 0 170
2020 9 2 1 204 0 0 0 0 216
2021 6 3 0 149 0 0 0 0 158
2022 9 2 0 109 0 0 0 2 122
2023 10 2 1 146 0 0 0 0 159
2024 5 2 0 210 1 0 1 0 219

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Valley Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2015 191 2.0 95.5 96.9
2016 209 6.0 34.8 97.6
2017 209 8.6 24.1 94.3
2018 191 7.5 25.4 94.8
2019 170 9.4 18.0 95.3
2020 216 n/a n/a 94.9
2021 158 7.2 21.9 94.9
2022 122 7.7 15.8 94.3
2023 159 8.1 19.6 95
2024 219 11.6 18.7 96.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Valley Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2015 191 2.0 95.5 96.9
2016 209 6.0 34.8 97.6
2017 209 8.6 24.1 94.3
2018 191 7.5 25.4 94.8
2019 170 9.4 18.0 95.3
2020 216 n/a n/a 94.9
2021 158 7.2 21.9 94.9
2022 122 7.7 15.8 94.3
2023 159 8.1 19.6 95
2024 219 11.6 18.7 96.8

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Valley Academy

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2018 $6,370

Data source: California Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Valley Academy

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 2631st of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 2762nd of 2802 Middle schools
 1.7%
Ranks 1972nd of 2133 High schoolsRanks 1891st of 2348 High schools
 11.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Valley Academy)17.46.7
 10.7%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Imperial County Office of Education)17.45.6
 11.8%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Valley Academy)4.46.7
 2.3%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Imperial County Office of Education)4.45.6
 1.2%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (Valley Academy)00
   8th Grade Science (Imperial County Office of Education)00
   8th Grade Science (California)30.828.8
 2.1%
11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Valley Academy)11.911.4
 0.5%
   11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Imperial County Office of Education)10.610.5
 0.1%
   11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)57.355.4
 1.9%
11th Grade Mathematics (Valley Academy)03
 3%
   11th Grade Mathematics (Imperial County Office of Education)02.8
 2.8%
   11th Grade Mathematics (California)32.227.4
 4.9%
12th Grade Science (Valley Academy)014.8
 14.8%
   12th Grade Science (Imperial County Office of Education)24.2
 2.3%
   12th Grade Science (California)25.626.9
 1.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students170159
 6.5%
African American02
American Indian00
Asian01
Hispanic163146
 10.4%
Pacific Islander00
White410
 150%
Two or More Races30
 100%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients95.3%95%
 0.3%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Valley Academy

Valley Academy ranks in the bottom 4.5% of California alternative schools.

Students at Valley Academy are 96% Hispanic, 2% White.

In the 2023-24 school year, 219 students attended Valley Academy.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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