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Thomas Jefferson Middle

Q: Is Thomas Jefferson Middle a good school?

Thomas Jefferson Middle ranks in the bottom 2.6% of California middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Thomas Jefferson Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 591 students attended Thomas Jefferson Middle.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Thomas Jefferson Middle?

Students at Thomas Jefferson Middle are 91% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% White, 1% Asian.

Q: What high school do graduates of Thomas Jefferson Middle attend?

Students who attend Thomas Jefferson Middle usually go on to attend Indio High

Public Grades 6-8

2689^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 3% of California middle schools

Summary

Thomas Jefferson Middle is a public middle school serving about 590 students in grades 6-8 within the Desert Sands Unified district in Indio, CA, and it faces significant academic challenges, ranking among the lowest-performing middle schools in the state.

Academic performance is very low, with only about 15% of students proficient in English and less than 4% proficient in math, which are the lowest or among the lowest rates compared to nearby schools like Indio Middle and John Glenn Middle School of International Studies. The school serves a community with high economic need, and over a third of students are chronically absent, which correlates with lower achievement. Interestingly, the school spends nearly $20,000 per student, which is higher than some top-performing schools in the same district, such as Palm Desert Charter Middle, yet these resources have not translated into better academic results.

The school's performance has declined over the past decade, and stark differences exist even within the same district, highlighting that factors beyond district-wide policies are at play. A notable finding is that the school's special education students perform significantly better relative to the state than the general student population, suggesting some effective support systems are in place. Addressing the profound struggles in math and improving student attendance are likely critical areas for any potential improvement.

591

Students ?

26.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,697

Per pupil spending ?

92%

Free/discounted lunch ?

83-089 Highway 111
Indio, CA 92201-5643

(760) 863-3660

District: Desert Sands Unified

Students who attend Thomas Jefferson Middle usually attend:

High:

Indio High

Feeder schools for Thomas Jefferson Middle:

Elementary:	Dr. Reynaldo J. Carreon Junior Academy
	Martin Van Buren Elementary
	Theodore Roosevelt Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

91.0%

Two or more races:

5.1%

White:

2.2%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Thomas Jefferson Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 29th percentile in 2013 → 3rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (9% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (34% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school9%

District avg33%

California avg41%

2,689^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 3% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7Middle Schools in the Desert Sands Unified

989^th of 1,543Desert Sands Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.7	2689 of 2761	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	2590 of 2783	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	2616 of 2781	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.5	2587 of 2740	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	2475 of 2715	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.8	2296 of 2480	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	12.6	2305 of 2508	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.0	2233 of 2497	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.5	2207 of 2477	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	30.7	1687 of 2379	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	19.5	1923 of 2259	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.0	1975 of 2236	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.0	1877 of 2179	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	15.1	1835 of 2063	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	22.1	1629 of 2005	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	17.5	1715 of 1999	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	12.9	1640 of 1804	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	12.2	1629 of 1777	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	11.5	1644 of 1769	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	18.8	1473 of 1531	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.7	1311 of 1491	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.1	979 of 1369	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	25.0	1431 of 1478	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	26.9	1403 of 1521	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	24.6	1480 of 1540	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	31.7	1034 of 1442	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.1	1202 of 1364	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.1	2481 of 2533	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.9	2372 of 2551	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	2407 of 2531	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.1	2339 of 2509	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.3	2137 of 2380	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.5	2081 of 2262	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.6	2314 of 2395	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.6	2189 of 2388	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	2217 of 2374	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.4	2230 of 2359	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	1988 of 2213	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.9	1871 of 2072	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.4	476 of 477	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.6	380 of 394	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.3	2446 of 2542	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.8	2360 of 2579	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	2360 of 2531	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.4	2265 of 2458	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.8	2159 of 2369	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.4	2009 of 2230	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.5	2478 of 2534	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	2429 of 2552	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	2377 of 2538	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.6	2441 of 2527	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	2284 of 2407	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.8	2155 of 2273	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	1.1	726 of 726	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	1316 of 1566	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.9	1393 of 1552	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.5	1457 of 1531	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2025)16th percentile+13 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)3rd percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)3rd percentile-4 vs school

Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Homeless (2025)<1st percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)<1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy15%-34 vs state

Science8%-25 vs state

Mathematics4%-34 vs state

★

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Schools Near Thomas Jefferson Middle

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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 Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Thomas Jefferson Middle	Public	6-8	83-089 Highway 111	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 863-3660	591	22	26.9	92.0%	13 (2.2%)	4 (0.7%)	538 (91.0%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.1%)	7.7	2689^th of 2761 public middle schools	2.6%		12	2590^th of 2783 public middle schools	6.9%	99	7.8	7.8	9.8	18.1	17.4	15.2	6.1	4.0	1.4	3.6	$21,697	$19,828	$1,869
Indio Middle	Public	6-8	81-195 Miles Ave.	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 775-3800	768	34	22.3	92.7%	30 (3.9%)	14 (1.8%)	697 (90.8%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (3.0%)	9.7	2625^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.9%		12.3	2570^th of 2783 public middle schools	7.7%	55	11.6	11.6	14.1	21.9	16.7	17.6	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.3	$21,056	$18,964	$2,092
Cahuilla Desert Academy Junior High	Public	7-8	82-489 Avenue 52	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-0097	668	33	20.1	83.8%	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	658 (98.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	28.2	1889^th of 2761 public middle schools	31.6%		25.1	2031^st of 2783 public middle schools	27.0%	142	17.9	17.9		37.9	29.8	33.5		22.6	23.0	22.8	$22,232	$16,936	$5,296
John Glenn Middle School of International Studies	Public	6-8	79-655 Miles Ave.	Indio	92201	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 200-3700	1,099	45	24.4	67.1%	175 (15.9%)	18 (1.6%)	829 (75.4%)	29 (2.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (4.3%)	52	1133^rd of 2761 public middle schools	59.0%		50.8	1147^th of 2783 public middle schools	58.8%	14	23.4	23.4	44.4	42.3	45.7	44.1	35.8	42.2	43.2	40.2	$23,402	$21,538	$1,864
Bobby Duke Middle	Public	7-8	85-358 Bagdad Ave.	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-0139	648	31	20.9	96.0%	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.5%)	636 (98.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.8%)	16.7	2368^th of 2761 public middle schools	14.2%		20.5	2241^st of 2783 public middle schools	19.5%	127	10.9	10.9		30.8	29.6	30.2		11.6	8.7	10.1	$20,795	$15,546	$5,249
La Quinta Middle	Public	6-8	78-900 Avenue 50	La Quinta	92253	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 777-4220	709	30	23.4	85.3%	79 (11.1%)	12 (1.7%)	554 (78.1%)	13 (1.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (6.9%)	30.2	1824^th of 2761 public middle schools	33.9%		30.7	1783^rd of 2783 public middle schools	35.9%	41	18.5	18.5	38.1	34.9	35.3	36.1	30.7	19.7	19.0	22.8	$22,165	$20,254	$1,911
Desert Ridge Academy	Public	6-8	79-767 Avenue 39	Indio	92203	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 393-5500	962	41	23.6	81.5%	81 (8.4%)	13 (1.4%)	815 (84.7%)	16 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	32 (3.3%)	26.3	1945^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.6%		19.6	2278^th of 2783 public middle schools	18.1%	333	21.1	21.1	37.1	36.5	30.5	34.5	24.5	18.5	10.5	17.4	$24,883	$22,806	$2,077
Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle	Public	6-8	43-495 Palm Royale Dr.	La Quinta	92253	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 238-9710	439	21	20.7	84.1%	80 (18.2%)	13 (3.0%)	305 (69.5%)	18 (4.1%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.3%)	20.5	2200^th of 2761 public middle schools	20.3%		20.6	2236^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.7%	36	21.2	21.2	31.7	23.4	32.5	29.9	9.0	13.9	12.8	11.8	$27,133	$24,602	$2,531
Palm Desert Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	74-200 Rutledge Way	Palm Desert	92260	Riverside County	Desert Sands Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 862-4320	1,298	47	27.6	61.4%	444 (34.2%)	20 (1.5%)	669 (51.5%)	78 (6.0%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	82 (6.3%)	64.2	802^nd of 2761 public middle schools	71.0%		68.2	719^th of 2783 public middle schools	74.2%	83	32.1	32.1	61.5	64.5	48.3	57.9	43.2	41.7	32.1	38.8	$29,144	$28,914	$230
Toro Canyon Middle	Public	7-8	86150 Avenue 66	Thermal	92274	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 397-2244	989	46	21.5	97.1%	7 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	961 (97.2%)	2 (0.2%)	10 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (0.8%)	11.6	2562^nd of 2761 public middle schools	7.2%		13	2550^th of 2783 public middle schools	8.4%	12	10.4	10.4		21.6	18.1	19.9		8.8	10.2	9.5	$19,375	$14,170	$5,205

Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas Jefferson Middle

Is Thomas Jefferson Middle a good school?

Thomas Jefferson Middle ranks in the bottom 2.6% of California middle schools.

What district is Thomas Jefferson Middle in?

Desert Sands Unified

How many students attend Thomas Jefferson Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 591 students attended Thomas Jefferson Middle.

What high school do graduates of Thomas Jefferson Middle attend?

Students who attend Thomas Jefferson Middle usually go on to attend Indio High

What is the racial makeup of Thomas Jefferson Middle?

Students at Thomas Jefferson Middle are 91% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% White, 1% Asian.

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.