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James Workman Middle

Q: Is James Workman Middle a good school?

James Workman Middle ranks 1578 th of 2703 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1578^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,703 California Middle Schools

Better than 42% of California middle schools

Summary

James Workman Middle enrolls 1,020 students in grades 6–8 in Cathedral City and is compared with 10 other nearby middle schools. In 2025–26, 42% of students met state standards in English language arts (ELA), 28% in math and 20% in science. The school did better than its district in all three subjects, but remained below California’s rates in each. Its clearest advantage is against nearby schools: it ranked third in ELA and fourth in math, making it one of the stronger local performers even though state-level gaps remain.

ELA and math are its strongest subjects compared with nearby schools, while science is a relative weakness. James Workman’s ELA and math rates were 6 and 7 percentage points above the nearby-school averages; its science rate was 3 points below the average and ranked sixth. It was also ahead of Palm Springs Unified by 5 points in ELA, 6 in math and 1 in science. But it fell short of the state by 7 points in ELA, 10 in math and 16 in science. SchoolDigger ranked the school at the 42nd statewide percentile with 2 stars in 2025–26, third among the 11 schools compared; the district ranked at the 24th percentile with 1 star.

Results have improved overall in ELA and math since 2022–23, rising about 3 and 5 percentage points, while science has been nearly flat. However, all three subjects declined in 2025–26, by about 1 point in ELA, 1 in math and 3 in science. The student–teacher ratio was 21.8 in 2024–25, around the middle of the comparison group. In that school year, 98% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible, the highest reported rate among nearby schools with the same measure. SchoolDigger’s statewide measure for how well the school serves Homeless Students was at the 78th percentile in 2025–26, compared with the school’s overall 42nd percentile. Its measure for how well it serves Low Socio Economic Status Students fell from the 65th percentile in 2024–25 to the 48th in 2025–26.

1,020

Students ?

21.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,481

Per pupil spending ?

97.8%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

69-300 30th Ave.
Cathedral City, CA 92234-4921

(760) 770-8540

District: Palm Springs Unified

Feeder schools for James Workman Middle:

Elementary:	Landau Elementary
	Rio Vista Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

83.2%

White:

7.1%

Asian:

4.4%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare James Workman Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 49th percentile in 2015 → 42nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Palm Springs Unified

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (33% vs 42% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 18% California)

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school33%

District avg27%

California avg42%

1,578^th of 2,703

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 42%▼ down 14 pts since 2016

From top 44% (2016) to bottom 42% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5Middle Schools in the Palm Springs Unified

739^th of 968Palm 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
2026	36.8	1578 of 2703	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.0	1430 of 2761	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.8	1514 of 2783	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.3	1516 of 2781	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.0	1653 of 2740	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	46.7	1248 of 2715	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.4	1295 of 2480	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2017	49.2	1124 of 2508	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	50.5	1099 of 2497	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2015	42.4	1271 of 2477	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	54.2	1040 of 2379	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2012	53.6	1001 of 2259	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2011	56.3	924 of 2236	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	65.8	648 of 2179	70.3%	★★★★☆
2009	52.8	910 of 2063	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2008	55.7	801 of 2005	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2007	34.8	1260 of 1999	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2006	53.1	754 of 1804	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2005	47.6	846 of 1777	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2004	29.4	1207 of 1769	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	54.5	252 of 643	60.8%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	26.2	1213 of 1531	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.1	1085 of 1491	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.3	1002 of 1369	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	47.4	506 of 1478	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.2	644 of 1521	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.8	937 of 1540	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.1	746 of 1442	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.8	907 of 1364	33.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	32.9	1567 of 2483	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	37.8	1442 of 2533	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.7	1518 of 2551	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.9	1419 of 2531	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.4	1510 of 2509	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.3	1102 of 2380	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.9	1152 of 2262	49.1%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	40.3	1280 of 2325	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	49.0	1053 of 2395	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	46.6	1077 of 2388	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.5	1132 of 2374	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	40.0	1291 of 2359	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	52.6	870 of 2213	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	47.7	974 of 2072	53.0%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	65.7	97 of 442	78.1%	★★★★☆
2025	62.0	129 of 477	73.0%	★★★★☆
2024	68.2	76 of 394	80.7%	★★★★☆
2023	63.9	80 of 320	75.0%	★★★★☆
2022	60.5	97 of 336	71.1%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	42.6	1285 of 2493	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	56.1	885 of 2542	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.0	1008 of 2579	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.7	934 of 2531	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.0	1051 of 2458	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.8	855 of 2369	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.5	985 of 2230	55.8%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	39.6	1354 of 2478	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	44.6	1231 of 2534	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.0	1283 of 2552	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.0	1367 of 2538	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.5	1523 of 2527	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.4	1177 of 2407	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	39.8	1258 of 2273	44.7%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.4	540 of 726	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	35.7	946 of 1586	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	42.1	750 of 1566	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	31.8	1037 of 1552	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.7	1278 of 1531	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	39.9	871 of 1482	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	45.3	820 of 1520	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.8	1049 of 1537	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.3	896 of 1543	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.1	1066 of 1555	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.7	724 of 1602	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.2	884 of 1496	40.9%	★★☆☆☆

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 (2026)78th percentile+36 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)66th percentile+20 vs school

African American (2019)61st percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)48th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2026)45th percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2026)45th percentile+3 vs school

White (2026)41st percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)40th percentile~ school

Female (2026)37th percentile-5 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)26th percentile-23 vs school

Disabled (2022)21st percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy42%-7 vs state

Mathematics28%-10 vs state

Science20%-16 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

This school inspire my child to read and be better at technologies. All teachers in James Workman has something that not other teachers do. Instead of making school boring they take it to the next level. They turns the classes into an adventure. One teacher uses classcraft.com to turn boring into adventure Close Quote

Schools Near James Workman 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CSA Spanish Overall (2026)				CSA Spanish Listening (2026)				CSA Spanish Writing (2026)				CSA Spanish Reading (2026)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				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	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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
James Workman Middle	Public	6-8	69-300 30th Ave.	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 770-8540	1,020	47	21.8	97.8%	72 (7.1%)	16 (1.6%)	849 (83.2%)	45 (4.4%)	8 (0.8%)	2 (0.2%)	28 (2.7%)	36.8	1578^th of 2703 public middle schools	41.6%		42	1430^th of 2761 public middle schools	48.2%	148																	20.4	20.4	40.1	40.6	45.3	41.9	28.4	24.6	31.8	28.1	$20,481	$19,594	$887
Nellie N. Coffman Middle	Public	6-8	34-603 Plumley Rd.	Cathedral City	92234	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 770-8617	914	46	19.9	97.2%	42 (4.6%)	14 (1.5%)	838 (91.7%)	9 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.0%)	20.8	2152^nd of 2703 public middle schools	20.4%		24.9	2010^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.2%	142																	18.5	18.5	29.0	30.3	37.9	32.3	13.3	18.6	15.5	15.8	$19,745	$18,724	$1,021
Raymond Cree Middle	Public	6-8	1011 Vista Chino	Palm Springs	92262	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 416-8283	721	37	19.6	97.1%	78 (10.8%)	48 (6.7%)	533 (73.9%)	23 (3.2%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (4.6%)	32.9	1693^rd of 2703 public middle schools	37.4%		35.8	1624^th of 2761 public middle schools	41.2%	69	3.9	9.8	3.5	6.3	15.4	22.0	13.8	17.7	15.4	19.5	6.9	14.6	3.9	7.3	3.5	5.2	28.5	28.5	36.4	35.2	42.0	37.9	24.0	23.7	25.2	24.3	$22,004	$20,930	$1,074
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%)	72.1	633^rd of 2703 public middle schools	76.6%		64.2	802^nd of 2761 public middle schools	71.0%	169																	40.6	40.6	61.6	67.3	63.5	64.1	43.9	46.7	38.8	42.8	$29,144	$28,914	$230
Desert Springs Middle	Public	6-8	66-755 Two Bunch Palms Trail	Desert Hot Springs	92240	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 251-7200	749	37	20.3	96.7%	47 (6.3%)	38 (5.1%)	636 (84.9%)	6 (0.8%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	16 (2.1%)	13.6	2443^rd of 2703 public middle schools	9.6%		12.6	2533^rd of 2761 public middle schools	8.3%	90																	15.9	15.9	17.5	26.4	30.1	24.7	9.2	9.8	14.1	10.9	$20,431	$19,336	$1,095
Painted Hills Middle	Public	6-8	9250 Sonora Dr.	Desert Hot Springs	92240	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 251-1551	722	33	21.6	97.2%	64 (8.9%)	35 (4.8%)	578 (80.1%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	38 (5.3%)	14.5	2417^th of 2703 public middle schools	10.6%		15.2	2433^rd of 2761 public middle schools	11.9%	16																	13.3	13.3	28.4	19.2	29.8	26.0	15.5	9.2	11.5	12.2	$20,451	$19,582	$869
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%)	17.1	2316^th of 2703 public middle schools	14.3%		20.5	2200^th of 2761 public middle schools	20.3%	116																	22.7	22.7	23.9	32.4	30.5	29.0	10.1	12.8	9.4	10.8	$27,133	$24,602	$2,531
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%)	28.3	1868^th of 2703 public middle schools	30.9%		26.3	1945^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.6%	77																	26.0	26.0	28.3	43.8	35.6	35.7	21.6	25.6	15.5	20.7	$24,883	$22,806	$2,077
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%)	51.6	1129^th of 2703 public middle schools	58.2%		52	1133^rd of 2761 public middle schools	59.0%	4																	32.0	32.0	44.7	44.1	48.8	45.9	34.0	36.7	43.9	38.1	$23,402	$21,538	$1,864
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%)	31.4	1755^th of 2703 public middle schools	35.1%		30.2	1824^th of 2761 public middle schools	33.9%	69																	18.8	18.8	34.5	41.4	35.0	36.9	29.6	28.9	21.3	26.7	$22,165	$20,254	$1,911

Frequently Asked Questions about James Workman Middle

How many students attend James Workman Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,020 students attended James Workman Middle.

Is James Workman Middle a good school?

James Workman Middle ranks 1578^th of 2703 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is James Workman Middle in?

Palm Springs Unified

What is the racial makeup of James Workman Middle?

Students at James Workman Middle are 83% Hispanic, 7% White, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% African American.

Rate James Workman Middle!

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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.