How does La Quinta Middle compare to other middle schools in La Quinta?

La Quinta Middle has a Scope Score of 30.8/100, ranked #1300 among California middle schools. 10% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,396 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at La Quinta Middle?

10.5% of students at La Quinta Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 29.6% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is La Quinta Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, La Quinta Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 7.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at La Quinta Middle?

28.2% of students at La Quinta Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in the Scope Score.

La Quinta Middle

Middle School

Desert Sands Unified La QuintaRiverside County92253

📍 78-900 Avenue 50

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

688 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

23:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

84%

Teachers

30 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+4.8 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+7.3 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

35.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 118 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic76.2%

White14.7%

Asian0.6%

Black1.9%

Other6.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for La Quinta Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	10.5%
Met Standard	19.1%
Below Standard	70.4%

Score Factors

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 10.5%

6.8pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 29.6%

9.9pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -7.3pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 28.2%

8.9pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 29.6%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 6.3%

2.2pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "30% proficient" for La Quinta Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

10.5% of students exceeded standard while 19.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 6.8 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 2.8 points below the Desert Sands Unified district average of 13.3%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 9.2% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 7.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 35.6% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 28.2%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

10.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

29.6%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-7.3pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

28.2%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

6.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,396

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	215	10.2%	27.9%	32.1%	29.8%	38.1%
7th	229	7.9%	27.1%	25.3%	39.7%	34.9%
8th	255	9.0%	26.3%	28.2%	36.5%	35.3%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	215	16.3%	14.4%	29.8%	39.5%	30.7%
7th	229	10.5%	9.2%	27.9%	52.4%	19.6%
8th	253	9.1%	9.9%	19.4%	61.7%	19.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Gerald R. Ford Elementary

72.2# in state

Benjamin Franklin Elementary

46.0# in state

Harry S. Truman Elementary

42.4# in state

Abraham Lincoln Elementary

33.2# in state

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Middle

La Quinta Middle

30.8# in state

This school

▼

High School

Also serves area

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.