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Best Public Schools in Joshua Tree, CA

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its California rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

516

Students

Top rankedFriendly Hills Elementary1753^rd of 5,817 California elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Joshua Tree Elementary up 1,100 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

Joshua Tree, California, has two elementary schools serving kindergarten through grade 6: Friendly Hills Elementary (266 students) and Joshua Tree Elementary (250), both in Morongo Unified. Their latest results show a mixed picture: the schools are close in science, but their ELA and especially math results differ substantially. The most important distinction is the 22-point math gap between them.

Friendly Hills Elementary stands out as the local leader, with 2025–2026 proficiency of 57% in ELA, 48% in math, and 38% in science, compared with 41%, 26%, and 35% at Joshua Tree Elementary. Friendly Hills was above state results in all three subjects, by 8 points in ELA, 9 in math, and 2 in science. Joshua Tree Elementary was below state results in ELA and math by 8 and 12 points, and just 1 point below in science. Grade-level results also vary: Joshua Tree Elementary’s grade 5 math proficiency was 8%, 29 points below the state rate; Friendly Hills had stronger examples in grade 5 ELA (69%) and grade 3 math (65%).

Recent trends are encouraging at Joshua Tree Elementary, which gained 7 points in ELA, 10 in math, and 8 in science from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, although it remains below the state in ELA and math. Friendly Hills’ ELA fell 5 points and math fell 4, while science rose 10 points. SchoolDigger placed Friendly Hills at the 70th statewide percentile and Joshua Tree Elementary at the 41st in 2025–2026. As context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible measures were 62% at Friendly Hills and 85% at Joshua Tree Elementary; 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were similar, at 22.6 and 22.9. These two years of results are a recent snapshot, and scores can shift with changes in the tested group.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Joshua Tree Elementary	Public	K-6	4950 Sunburst Ave	Joshua Tree	92277	San Bernardino County	Morongo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 366-8459	250	11	22.9	85.2%	95 (38.0%)	13 (5.2%)	121 (48.4%)	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.8%)	37.3	3416^th of 5817 public elementary schools	41.3%		23.8	4516^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.9%	1100	35.1	35.1	48.5	28.6	35.1	55.6	40.9	43.8	28.6	8.1	25.9	26.0	81%	0%	$21,618	$20,022	$1,596
Friendly Hills Elementary	Public	K-6	7252 Sunny Vista Rd.	Joshua Tree	92277	San Bernardino County	Morongo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 366-3812	266	12	22.6	62.4%	138 (51.9%)	5 (1.9%)	108 (40.6%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	10 (3.8%)	66.5	1753^rd of 5817 public elementary schools	69.9%		71.5	1533^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	73.8%	220	38.5	38.5	56.8	44.1	69.2	57.1	57.3	64.9	38.2	46.2	39.3	47.8	94%	0%	$21,918	$20,212	$1,706

Cities Near Joshua Tree

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Yucca Valley	4.79 mi	6	778^th
Landers	10.68 mi	1	518^th
Twentynine Palms	12.78 mi	7	645^th
Desert Hot Springs	17.22 mi	8	835^th
Morongo Valley	18.02 mi	1	181^st

See the top CA California cities

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.