Summary:
Cathedral City, California, is served by nine public schools within the Palm Springs Unified district, including five elementary, two middle, and two high schools, all supporting a community with high economic need.
Among these schools, Sunny Sands Elementary stands out as the highest performer, with academic scores meeting or exceeding state averages and the lowest chronic absenteeism. At the high school level, Cathedral City High maintains a strong graduation rate above 92%, though its state ranking has recently declined. In contrast, Mt. San Jacinto High faces significant challenges, including very high chronic absenteeism and low test scores, and Agua Caliente Elementary is the lowest-ranked elementary school.
Key district-wide issues include mathematics scores that generally lag behind state averages and a concerning rate of chronic absenteeism, which is higher than the state average. There is also notable variation in performance between elementary schools and a drop in scores as students transition to middle schools like James Workman Middle and Nellie N. Coffman Middle. Parents should note that while the district faces shared challenges, individual school performance varies significantly.
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