How does Palm Desert Charter Middle compare to other middle schools in Palm Desert?

Palm Desert Charter Middle has a Scope Score of 53.6/100, ranked #762 among California middle schools. 23% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,543 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Palm Desert Charter Middle?

22.5% of students at Palm Desert Charter Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 48.6% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Palm Desert Charter Middle?

19.5% of students at Palm Desert Charter 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.

Palm Desert Charter Middle

Q: Is Palm Desert Charter Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Palm Desert Charter Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 12.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

Middle School

Desert Sands Unified Palm DesertRiverside County92260Charter School

📍 74-200 Rutledge Way

Charter school — publicly funded but independently operated. Enrollment is open to all students regardless of neighborhood, typically through a lottery process. Charter schools have more flexibility in curriculum and operations but must meet state academic standards.

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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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

1,389 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

28:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

63%

Teachers

49 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+7.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-3.9 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic51.3%

White33.9%

Asian4.8%

Black1.9%

Other8.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Palm Desert Charter Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	22.5%
Met Standard	26.1%
Below Standard	51.4%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 22.5%

5.2pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 48.6%

9.1pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 48.6%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Growth (G6→G8): -12.1pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 19.5%

0.2pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Suspension rate: 4.6%

0.5pp 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 "49% proficient" for Palm Desert Charter Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

22.5% of students exceeded standard while 26.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 5.2 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 9.2 points above the Desert Sands Unified district average of 13.3%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 12.1 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 declined year-over-year.

Chronic absenteeism is 19.5%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

How to get into a charter school in LA →