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Agua Caliente Elementary

Public Grades K-5

4750^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of California elementary schools

Summary

Agua Caliente Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 645 students in Cathedral City, California, as part of the Palm Springs Unified School District, and it faces significant academic challenges with test scores well below state averages.

The school consistently ranks in the lower percentiles statewide, currently at the 19th percentile, which is lower than most nearby schools like Katherine Finchy Elementary (48th percentile) and Sunny Sands Elementary (61st percentile). A notable positive is a dramatic improvement in student attendance, with chronic absenteeism dropping to 19.8%, which is better than the district average and on par with the state. However, this has not yet translated to better test scores, and performance varies wildly by grade, with 5th graders scoring much higher in English than 3rd or 4th graders.

An interesting comparison is with the nearby Cielo Vista Charter, which serves a very similar student population but ranks at the 69th percentile, spends significantly more per student, and has extremely low absenteeism. While Agua Caliente shows relative strengths in supporting English Language Learners and homeless students, its overall academic performance, particularly for students with special needs, remains a serious concern within the district.

645

Students ?

20.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,819

Per pupil spending ?

93.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

30-800 San Luis Rey Plaza
Cathedral City, CA 92234-6045

(760) 416-8235

District: Palm Springs Unified

Students who attend Agua Caliente Elementary usually attend:

High:

Cathedral City High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.8%

White:

2.2%

African American:

1.6%

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Compare Agua Caliente Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 20th percentile in 2013 → 19th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (23% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 21 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school23%

District avg27%

California avg41%

4,750^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 10 pts since 2015

From bottom 29% (2015) to bottom 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 16Elementary Schools in the Palm Springs Unified

1147^th of 1,543Palm Springs 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	20.9	4750 of 5857	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.3	4645 of 5869	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	5083 of 5859	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.3	4712 of 5883	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.3	4770 of 5789	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	4160 of 5662	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.2	4415 of 5692	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.7	4371 of 5614	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	26.3	4004 of 5611	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	24.8	4411 of 5530	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	25.2	4300 of 5390	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	40.1	3229 of 5377	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	40.7	3129 of 5314	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	37.6	3205 of 5193	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	35.9	3208 of 5113	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	27.5	3738 of 5113	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	21.1	3919 of 4818	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	18.6	4067 of 4822	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	13.0	4484 of 4809	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	24.3	1787 of 2227	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.5	1606 of 2585	37.9%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	38.3	1937 of 3162	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.3	1790 of 3245	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.6	1563 of 3311	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	29.8	2510 of 3275	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.1	1811 of 3246	44.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	4405 of 5597	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.3	4687 of 5612	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.2	4946 of 5609	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	4613 of 5635	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.6	4565 of 5492	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.4	3885 of 5413	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.9	3977 of 5107	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.2	3561 of 5107	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.6	4048 of 5087	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.8	3641 of 5084	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.6	3792 of 4963	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.6	3105 of 4830	35.7%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.9	238 of 429	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	219 of 364	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.4	271 of 335	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.1	4052 of 5460	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.5	3819 of 5517	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.0	4305 of 5363	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.2	3735 of 5264	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.6	3829 of 5173	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.1	3161 of 5084	37.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.7	4724 of 5628	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.4	4138 of 5643	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.8	4726 of 5638	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.8	4447 of 5663	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.0	4467 of 5510	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	4027 of 5431	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.1	2412 of 2847	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.1	2162 of 2635	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.3	1938 of 2420	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)45th percentile+26 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)39th percentile+18 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile+7 vs school

Hispanic (2025)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)20th percentile~ school

Male (2025)16th percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2025)15th percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy28%-21 vs state

Mathematics20%-17 vs state

Science17%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Agua Caliente Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)				CSA Spanish Listening (2025)				CSA Spanish Writing (2025)				CSA Spanish Reading (2025)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Agua Caliente Elementary	Public	K-5	30-800 San Luis Rey Plaza	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8235	645	32	20.2	93.3%	14 (2.2%)	10 (1.6%)	605 (93.8%)	7 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.1%)	20.9	4750^th of 5857 public elementary schools	18.9%		22.3	4645^th of 5869 public elementary schools	20.9%	105																	17.1		17.1	24.8	15.3	44.8				28.1	30.4	11.5	18.9				19.9	95.7				96.8		$20,819	$1,923	$18,896
Landau Elementary	Public	K-5	30310 Landau Blvd.	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 770-8600	579	29	19.7	94.1%	40 (6.9%)	10 (1.7%)	474 (81.9%)	42 (7.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	10 (1.7%)	36	3497^th of 5857 public elementary schools	40.3%		35.9	3442^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	41.4%	55																	20.5		20.5	46.4	36.5	38.9				40.5	53.0	21.2	18.4				30.2	97.5	97.5			97.5	97.5	$21,743	$1,965	$19,778
Cielo Vista Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	650 South Paseo Dorotea	Palm Springs	92264	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8250	824	41	20.1	92.7%	68 (8.3%)	14 (1.7%)	674 (81.8%)	42 (5.1%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (2.7%)	65.4	1822^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	68.9%		64.1	1872^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	68.1%	50																	22.4	26.9	24.9	68.8	54.0	48.2	56.1	69.4	63.0	60.1	66.3	63.2	36.9	39.5	42.6	28.7	44.9							$28,634	$2,796	$25,838
Rio Vista Elementary	Public	K-5	67-700 Verona Rd.	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-0032	637	31	20.7	91.2%	64 (10.0%)	12 (1.9%)	503 (79.0%)	24 (3.8%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.8%)	27 (4.2%)	36.7	3431^st of 5857 public elementary schools	41.4%		36.4	3408^th of 5869 public elementary schools	41.9%	23																	20.2		20.2	35.4	47.7	37.2				40.2	38.4	39.5	20.4				32.4							$20,435	$1,707	$18,728
Sunny Sands Elementary	Public	K-5	69-310 McCallum Way	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 770-8635	692	33	20.9	93.4%	51 (7.4%)	6 (0.9%)	583 (84.2%)	34 (4.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.3%)	55.5	2278^th of 5857 public elementary schools	61.1%		53.8	2355^th of 5869 public elementary schools	59.9%	77																	36.0		36.0	52.3	39.1	52.7				48.0	50.0	37.3	41.8				43.0							$22,063	$1,868	$20,195
Katherine Finchy Elementary	Public	K-5	777 East Tachevah Dr.	Palm Springs	92262	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8190	464	23	20.1	87.9%	75 (16.2%)	44 (9.5%)	304 (65.5%)	22 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.7%)	42.6	3032^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	48.2%		47.7	2692^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	54.1%	340																	25.6		25.6	44.8	39.5	39.7				41.2	38.8	46.3	26.9				37.4	92.7	95.6		95.6	95.6	95.6	$21,693	$1,933	$19,760
Cahuilla Elementary	Public	K-5	833 East Mesquite Ave.	Palm Springs	92264	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8161	399	21	19.1	91.5%	45 (11.3%)	36 (9.0%)	284 (71.2%)	12 (3.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.3%)	20.1	4820^th of 5857 public elementary schools	17.7%		32.2	3772^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	35.7%	1048																	9.4		9.4	28.8	31.8	25.4				28.7	27.6	32.3	7.8				22.3	95.5				97.0		$21,900	$1,774	$20,126
Cathedral City Elementary	Public	K-5	69300 Converse Rd.	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 770-8583	606	33	18.6	96.5%	16 (2.6%)	9 (1.5%)	564 (93.1%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.7%)	23.2	4566^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.0%		20.8	4784^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.5%	218																	16.7		16.7	29.9	31.7	31.7				31.2	25.3	26.0	20.6				23.9	94.9	97.4			94.9		$20,947	$1,699	$19,248
Vista del Monte Elementary	Public	K-5	2744 North Via Miraleste	Palm Springs	92262	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8176	435	23	19.0	95.4%	23 (5.3%)	7 (1.6%)	390 (89.7%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.3%)	18.6	4953^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	15.4%		27.2	4188^th of 5869 public elementary schools	28.6%	765	2.9	18.5	9.7	9.7	22.9	14.8	29.0	22.6	2.9	25.9	6.5	10.8	2.9	14.8	6.5	7.5	23.5		23.5	8.1	12.8	37.7				20.6	14.5	20.9	20.0				18.9	87.5	95.3	96.9		90.6	92.2	$22,429	$2,077	$20,352
Della S. Lindley Elementary	Public	K-5	31-495 Robert Rd.	Thousand Palms	92276	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 343-7570	552	29	19.3	92.6%	35 (6.3%)	8 (1.4%)	493 (89.3%)	8 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	6 (1.1%)	23.6	4536^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.6%		24.5	4411^th of 5869 public elementary schools	24.8%	125																	20.4		20.4	36.6	22.2	32.4				30.6	30.1	23.3	16.7				23.0	95.7	98.3	98.3	98.3	96.5		$22,094	$2,198	$19,896

Frequently Asked Questions about Agua Caliente Elementary

Is Agua Caliente Elementary a good school?

Agua Caliente Elementary ranks in the bottom 18.9% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Agua Caliente Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 645 students attended Agua Caliente Elementary.

What district is Agua Caliente Elementary in?

Palm Springs Unified

What schools do graduates of Agua Caliente Elementary attend?

Students who attend Agua Caliente Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Cathedral City High

What is the racial makeup of Agua Caliente Elementary?

Students at Agua Caliente Elementary are 94% Hispanic, 2% White, 2% African American, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more races.

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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.