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Cahuilla Elementary

Public Grades K-5

4820^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 18% of California elementary schools

Summary

Cahuilla Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 399 students in the Palm Springs Unified district, operating in a high-need community where over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Recent data shows the school is facing significant academic challenges, with its statewide ranking dropping sharply into the bottom quartile of California elementary schools. This decline is more severe than at nearby schools like Sunny Sands Elementary or Katherine Finchy Elementary, which maintained more stable performance. Cahuilla also struggles with a very high rate of chronic student absenteeism, nearly 30%, which is double or more the rate of several other local schools with similar student demographics, and there is a notable performance gap between female and male students.

Despite these challenges, the success of the nearby Cielo Vista Charter, which serves a nearly identical student population but achieves much higher academic results and has very low absenteeism, suggests improvement is possible. Cahuilla's performance is also volatile for specific student groups, such as English Learners and students with disabilities, indicating a need for consistent support programs. A clear pattern across all local schools is the strong link between better attendance and higher academic achievement, pointing to a key area for potential focus at Cahuilla.

399

Students ?

19.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,900

Per pupil spending ?

91.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

833 East Mesquite Ave.
Palm Springs, CA 92264-8414

(760) 416-8161

District: Palm Springs Unified

Students who attend Cahuilla Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Raymond Cree Middle
High:	Palm Springs High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

71.2%

White:

11.3%

African American:

9.0%

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Compare Cahuilla Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 38th percentile in 2013 → 18th in 2025

Worth a look

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

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (30% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school23%

District avg27%

California avg41%

4,820^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 18%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 35% (2015) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^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	20.1	4820 of 5857	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.2	3772 of 5869	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.4	3541 of 5859	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.0	3708 of 5883	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.3	3172 of 5789	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.9	3279 of 5662	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2017	32.0	3679 of 5692	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	40.9	3019 of 5614	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2015	30.6	3665 of 5611	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	38.2	3442 of 5530	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	51.6	2516 of 5390	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	44.6	2918 of 5377	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	46.1	2790 of 5314	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	28.1	3836 of 5193	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	38.9	3001 of 5113	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	43.7	2692 of 5113	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2006	34.9	3003 of 4818	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	37.6	2857 of 4822	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	35.5	2916 of 4809	39.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	43.2	357 of 700	49.0%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	18.7	2063 of 2227	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	54.6	852 of 2585	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	31.5	1360 of 2128	36.1%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	53.6	997 of 3162	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.2	1040 of 3245	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	38.6	1904 of 3311	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	63.5	717 of 3275	78.1%	★★★★☆
2018	53.5	1099 of 3246	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.3	4136 of 5597	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.3	3627 of 5612	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.5	3324 of 5609	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.0	3737 of 5635	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.4	2474 of 5492	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.2	3011 of 5413	44.4%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.3	4500 of 5107	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.0	3119 of 5107	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.5	3183 of 5087	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.4	2876 of 5084	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	51.8	2168 of 4963	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.6	2576 of 4830	46.7%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.3	245 of 429	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.7	278 of 356	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.7	4238 of 5460	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	42.6	2942 of 5517	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.7	2653 of 5363	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.9	2541 of 5264	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	52.8	2219 of 5173	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.0	2612 of 5084	48.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.6	5068 of 5628	10.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	32.8	3584 of 5643	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.1	3527 of 5638	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.0	3370 of 5663	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.7	3821 of 5510	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.6	3368 of 5431	38.0%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	23.3	2315 of 2834	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.5	1992 of 2737	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆

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)68th percentile+33 vs school

African American (2018)49th percentile+7 vs school

Homeless (2025)43rd percentile+25 vs school

Female (2025)26th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+5 vs school

White (2019)18th percentile-27 vs school

Hispanic (2025)12th percentile-6 vs school

Male (2025)10th percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)7th percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy29%-20 vs state

Mathematics22%-15 vs state

Science9%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cahuilla 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 Cahuilla Elementary

Is Cahuilla Elementary a good school?

Cahuilla Elementary ranks in the bottom 17.7% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Cahuilla Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 399 students attended Cahuilla Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Cahuilla Elementary?

Students at Cahuilla Elementary are 71% Hispanic, 11% White, 9% African American, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian.

What district is Cahuilla Elementary in?

Palm Springs Unified

What schools do graduates of Cahuilla Elementary attend?

Students who attend Cahuilla Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Raymond Cree Middle
High : Palm Springs High

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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.