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James Workman Middle

Q: Is James Workman Middle a good school?

James Workman Middle ranks 1430 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1430^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 48% of California middle schools

Summary

James Workman Middle is a public school serving about 1,020 students in grades 6-8 in Cathedral City, part of the Palm Springs Unified district, and it stands out as a relatively strong performer within its local educational context despite serving a community with very high economic need.

Academically, the school ranks near the middle compared to all California middle schools, but it consistently outperforms other middle schools in its own district, including Painted Hills Middle, Desert Springs Middle, and Nellie N. Coffman Middle, in core subjects like English and math. The school shows particular effectiveness in supporting students from high-need backgrounds, such as English learners and students experiencing homelessness, and it manages chronic student absenteeism better than most of its district peers.

When compared to a higher-performing school like John Glenn Middle School of International Studies in the neighboring Desert Sands Unified district, it's important to note the different student populations served. James Workman Middle has shown positive momentum, such as recent improvements in special education outcomes, and is working to stabilize its performance after a pandemic-related dip, maintaining its position as the largest and one of the more effective middle schools in its immediate area.

1,020

Students ?

21.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,270

Per pupil spending ?

97.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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: Rebounding — 40th percentile in 2022 → 48th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 48th (2025) from a 40th-percentile low (2022)

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Palm Springs Unified

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (34% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 19% California)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg27%

California avg41%

1,430^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 48%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5Middle 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	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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 (2025)73rd percentile+25 vs school

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

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)65th percentile+17 vs school

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

Hispanic (2025)56th percentile+8 vs school

Special Education (2025)52nd percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)51st percentile+3 vs school

White (2025)46th percentile~ school

Female (2025)43rd percentile-5 vs school

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

Disabled (2022)21st percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy43%-6 vs state

Mathematics29%-8 vs state

Science24%-9 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

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores 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)				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 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th 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%)	42	1430^th of 2761 public middle schools	48.2%		38.8	1514^th of 2783 public middle schools	45.6%	84													23.6	23.6	39.4	48.4	42.0	43.1	27.9	32.5	26.9	29.0	$21,270	$1,735	$19,535
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%)	24.9	2010^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.2%		21.7	2187^th of 2783 public middle schools	21.4%	177													19.7	19.7	32.3	28.8	41.0	34.1	17.5	10.4	19.3	15.8	$20,491	$1,704	$18,787
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%)	35.8	1624^th of 2761 public middle schools	41.2%		37.8	1535^th of 2783 public middle schools	44.8%	89	6.8	0.0	4.2	15.9	28.6	20.8	6.8	7.1	6.9	6.8	0.0	4.2	23.1	23.1	36.9	37.1	40.0	38.0	31.3	25.3	23.6	26.8	$21,848	$1,755	$20,093
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	$13,492	$411	$13,081
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%)	12.6	2533^rd of 2761 public middle schools	8.3%		16.6	2415^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.2%	118													12.7	12.7	16.7	23.9	18.6	19.6	13.1	15.1	4.9	11.0	$21,348	$1,963	$19,385
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%)	15.2	2433^rd of 2761 public middle schools	11.9%		16.5	2418^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.1%	15													9.2	9.2	22.2	29.3	23.0	24.9	10.0	17.3	11.8	13.1	$21,314	$1,882	$19,432
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	$22,908	$3,615	$19,293
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	$19,602	$3,156	$16,446
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	$19,909	$3,029	$16,880
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	$19,441	$2,974	$16,467

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 1430^th of 2761 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.

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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.