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Harry S. Truman Elementary

Public Grades K-5
3498th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,804 California Elementary Schools
Better than 40% of California elementary schools
Summary

Harry S. Truman Elementary is a K–5 school in La Quinta, serving 635 students in Desert Sands Unified. Its results are mixed: science is a relative strength, but English language arts (ELA) and math remain below state proficiency rates. Math is the biggest concern: 27% of students were proficient, compared with 38% statewide, an 11-point gap.

Compared with nearby schools, Truman is stronger in ELA and science than in math. It scored above the average of nine nearby same-district schools in ELA by 2 points and in science by 5 points, while its math result was 2 points below their average. The school’s ELA proficiency was 39%, 3 points below the district and 10 points below the state. In science, it reached 36%—6 points above the district and just 0.5 points below the state. Math was 27%, about the same as the district but 11 points below the state. Within Truman, fifth grade stands out: proficiency was above the district in both ELA and math, while fourth-grade math was 23 points below the state.

Science has improved substantially, rising 14 points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026; over that period, ELA gained 2 points, while math fell 5 points and dropped 11 points in the latest year alone. SchoolDigger places Truman at the 40th statewide percentile with 2 stars, down from the 53rd percentile and 3 stars the prior year. Its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 25.4, and 80.2% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, close to the 80.4% average among same-district peers. One notable subgroup result: SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well the school serves multi-racial students was at the 6th percentile in 2023–2024, compared with Truman’s overall 48th percentile that year.

635
Students ?
25.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$24,475
Per pupil spending ?
80.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 78-870 Avenue 50
       La Quinta, CA  92253-2400

(760) 777-4230

District: Desert Sands Unified


Students who attend Harry S. Truman Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    La Quinta Middle
High:    La Quinta High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
76.9%
White:
11.2%
Two or more races:
8.0%
more
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 Compare Harry S. Truman Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 67th percentile in 2015 → 40th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (34% vs 42% meeting standards)
!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 18% California)
!Ranking has slipped — down 27 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school34%
District avg34%
California avg42%
3,498th of 5,804
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 40%▼ down 36 pts since 2016
From top 24% (2016) to bottom 40% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
9th of 19Elementary Schools in the Desert Sands Unified
627th of 968Desert 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202636.03498 of 580439.7%★★☆☆☆
202547.02759 of 585752.9%★★★☆☆
202442.03071 of 586947.7%★★☆☆☆
202338.03274 of 585944.1%★★☆☆☆
202237.23280 of 588344.2%★★☆☆☆
201962.11965 of 578966.1%★★★☆☆
201866.21752 of 566269.1%★★★☆☆
201764.11836 of 569267.7%★★★☆☆
201673.51371 of 561475.6%★★★★☆
201562.11847 of 561167.1%★★★☆☆
201377.81172 of 553078.8%★★★★☆
201282.7870 of 539083.9%★★★★☆
201180.0999 of 537781.4%★★★★☆
201064.21775 of 531466.6%★★★☆☆
200966.91592 of 519369.3%★★★☆☆
200861.41792 of 511365.0%★★★☆☆
200751.42238 of 511356.2%★★★☆☆
200653.32033 of 481857.8%★★★☆☆
200550.52175 of 482254.9%★★★☆☆
200449.52179 of 480954.7%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202236.81206 of 222745.8%★★☆☆☆
201941.01260 of 258551.3%★★★☆☆
201822.51844 of 212813.3%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202446.41390 of 316256.0%★★★☆☆
202347.61309 of 324559.7%★★★☆☆
202251.41118 of 331166.2%★★★☆☆
201970.3526 of 327583.9%★★★★☆
201882.4301 of 324690.7%★★★★★

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.83498 of 556937.2%★★☆☆☆
202546.82643 of 559752.8%★★★☆☆
202440.83002 of 561246.5%★★☆☆☆
202341.82900 of 560948.3%★★☆☆☆
202242.82821 of 563549.9%★★☆☆☆
201963.91801 of 549267.2%★★★☆☆
201862.21873 of 541365.4%★★★☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202646.02607 of 508548.7%★★☆☆☆
202554.02032 of 510760.2%★★★☆☆
202452.32106 of 510758.8%★★★☆☆
202347.92365 of 508753.5%★★★☆☆
202246.42424 of 508452.3%★★★☆☆
201970.71142 of 496377.0%★★★★☆
201878.3762 of 483084.2%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202642.23013 of 541244.3%★★☆☆☆
202551.22356 of 546056.8%★★★☆☆
202447.02604 of 551752.8%★★★☆☆
202338.13216 of 536340.0%★★☆☆☆
202241.82847 of 526445.9%★★☆☆☆
201960.81721 of 517366.7%★★★☆☆
201876.8828 of 508483.7%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202637.03326 of 559040.5%★★☆☆☆
202546.42710 of 562851.8%★★★☆☆
202442.82895 of 564348.7%★★☆☆☆
202334.83423 of 563839.3%★★☆☆☆
202233.13531 of 566337.6%★★☆☆☆
201959.11996 of 551063.8%★★★☆☆
201867.91569 of 543171.1%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20247.9631 of 6705.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.5653 of 6692.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.6578 of 6105.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202631.02011 of 292031.1%★★☆☆☆
202532.11877 of 284734.1%★★☆☆☆
202445.81100 of 263558.3%★★★☆☆
202344.11078 of 242055.5%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.21771 of 253230.1%★★☆☆☆
202561.71054 of 259859.4%★★★☆☆
202445.81553 of 265141.4%★★☆☆☆
202341.11692 of 266136.4%★★☆☆☆
202231.51967 of 272627.8%★☆☆☆☆
201974.5654 of 283476.9%★★★★☆
201864.31033 of 273762.3%★★★☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2024)56th percentile+8 vs school
Hispanic (2026)49th percentile+9 vs school
Disabled (2022)46th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)44th percentile+5 vs school
Male (2026)41st percentile~ school
Female (2026)37th percentile-3 vs school
Special Education (2026)31st percentile-9 vs school
White (2026)30th percentile-10 vs school
Multi-racial (2024)6th percentile-42 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy39%-10 vs state
Science36%~ state avg
Mathematics27%-11 vs state

★
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Schools Near Harry S. Truman Elementary

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Frequently Asked Questions about Harry S. Truman Elementary

Students who attend Harry S. Truman Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : La Quinta Middle
High : La Quinta High

Harry S. Truman Elementary ranks 3498th of 5804 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 635 students attended Harry S. Truman Elementary.

Students at Harry S. Truman Elementary are 77% Hispanic, 11% White, 8% Two or more races, 2% African American, 2% Asian.

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Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026


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.

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