How does Thomas Jefferson Middle compare to other middle schools in Indio?

Thomas Jefferson Middle has a Scope Score of 13.9/100, ranked #1628 among California middle schools. 2% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,156 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Thomas Jefferson Middle?

2.1% of students at Thomas Jefferson Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 9.4% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Thomas Jefferson Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Thomas Jefferson Middle's proficiency rate increases by 1.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Thomas Jefferson Middle?

34.2% of students at Thomas Jefferson 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.

Thomas Jefferson Middle

Middle School

Desert Sands Unified IndioRiverside County92201

📍 83-089 Highway 111

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

535 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

23:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

92%

Teachers

23 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-13.8 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-13.1 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

16.4%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 208 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic89.7%

White3.5%

Asian1.5%

Black0.6%

Other4.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Thomas Jefferson Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	2.1%
Met Standard	7.4%
Below Standard	90.5%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +1.4pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 2.1%

15.2pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 9.4%

30.1pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 34.2%

14.9pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 9.4%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 6.5%

2.4pp 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 "9% proficient" for Thomas Jefferson Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

2.1% of students exceeded standard while 7.4% met it. That exceeded rate is 15.2 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 11.2 points below the Desert Sands Unified district average of 13.3%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 2.1% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 1.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance declined and Math declined year-over-year. 16.4% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 34.2%, 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

2.1%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

9.4%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+1.4pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

34.2%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

6.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,156

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

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	183	2.7%	7.1%	20.2%	70.0%	9.8%
7th	177	1.7%	16.4%	23.7%	58.2%	18.1%
8th	219	3.2%	14.2%	35.2%	47.5%	17.4%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	181	3.9%	2.2%	14.4%	79.6%	6.1%
7th	177	0.6%	3.4%	19.8%	76.3%	4.0%
8th	219	0.5%	0.9%	14.6%	84.0%	1.4%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Martin Van Buren Elementary

52.4# in state

Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon Jr. Ac…

37.0# in state

Theodore Roosevelt Elementary

21.3# in state

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Middle

Thomas Jefferson Middle

13.9# in state

This school

▼

High School

Indio High

38.6# in state

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