Is Rio Vista Elementary a good school?

Rio Vista Elementary ranks 3320 th of 5874 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Rio Vista Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 690 students attended Rio Vista Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Rio Vista Elementary?

Students at Rio Vista Elementary are 77% Hispanic, 12% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Rio Vista Elementary attend?

Students who attend Rio Vista Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : James Workman Middle High : Cathedral City High

Rio Vista Elementary

Summary:

Rio Vista Elementary is a public elementary school located in Cathedral City, California, serving 690 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Palm Springs Unified school district, which is ranked 1044 out of 1560 districts in California and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Rio Vista Elementary has a significantly higher percentage of Hispanic students (76.81%) compared to nearby schools, which range from 61.79% to 93.77% Hispanic students. Academically, the school generally outperforms the district and state averages, with its 5th-grade English Language Arts proficiency rate at 41.38% in 2022-2023, compared to the district's 38.16% and the state's 46.69%. However, the school has experienced a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 10.6% in 2018-2019 to 36.4% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the nearby schools' range of 16.5% to 43.6%. Additionally, Rio Vista Elementary has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 95.13% to 98.49% over the past few years, higher than the nearby schools' range of 92.5% to 98.47%.

While Rio Vista Elementary's academic performance is relatively strong, its statewide ranking has declined over the years, from a high of 1257 out of 5,530 California elementary schools in 2012-2013 to 3,307 out of 5,848 in 2022-2023. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with White students performing in the bottom 25% of California elementary schools. When compared to nearby schools, Rio Vista Elementary generally outperforms the district and state averages, but lags behind some of the higher-performing schools, such as Cielo Vista Charter, which consistently ranks in the top 30% of California elementary schools. These findings suggest that Rio Vista Elementary faces unique challenges that require targeted interventions and support to address the needs of its diverse student population.

Detail:

Public K-5

67-700 Verona Rd.
Cathedral City, CA 92234-5508

(760) 416-0032

District: Palm Springs Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3320^th of 5,874 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $12,641

Students who attend Rio Vista Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	James Workman Middle
High:	Cathedral City High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.8

Number of students: 690

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

76.8%

White:

11.9%

Two or more races:

4.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 96.5%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Rio Vista Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Rio Vista Elementary ranks worse than 56.5% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 5^th among 16 ranked elementary schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 37.45. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (76.8%), White (11.9%), two or more races (4.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 96.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Rio Vista Elementary is 20.8. 9 elementary schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Rio Vista Elementary employs 33.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Rio Vista Elementary is $12,641. 12 elementary schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Rio Vista Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Rio Vista Elementary 3320^th of 5874 California public elementary schools. (See Rio Vista Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Palm Springs Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Palm Springs Unified 1046^th of 1563 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Rio Vista Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2007	67.19	1504^th	5113	70.6%
2008	60.56	1822^nd	5113	64.4%
2009	64.86	1690^th	5193	67.5%
2010	63.68	1801^st	5314	66.1%
2011	61.70	1923^rd	5377	64.2%
2012	64.49	1817^th	5390	66.3%
2013	76.05	1257^th	5530	77.3%
2015	56.83	2087^th	5611	62.8%
2016	56.76	2140^th	5614	61.9%
2017	57.83	2132^nd	5692	62.5%
2018	53.32	2369^th	5662	58.2%
2019	55.69	2269^th	5789	60.8%
2022	36.89	3315^th	5883	43.7%
2023	37.45	3320^th	5874	43.5%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	52.83	1131^st	3246	65.2%
2019	54.32	1034^th	3275	68.4%
2022	39.35	1852^nd	3311	44.1%
2023	39.71	1844^th	3250	43.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.11	1426^th	2420	41.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	60.66	1709^th	5084	66.4%
2019	71.52	1109^th	5173	78.6%
2022	54.30	2020^th	5264	61.6%
2023	53.62	2128^th	5374	60.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	60.89	96^th	356	73.0%
2023	81.67	33^rd	336	90.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	54.70	2248^th	5413	58.5%
2019	54.53	2247^th	5492	59.1%
2022	37.20	3185^th	5635	43.5%
2023	37.48	3178^th	5617	43.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	51.53	936^th	2585	63.8%
2022	37.23	1191^st	2227	46.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	50.60	2411^th	5431	55.6%
2019	55.36	2178^th	5510	60.5%
2022	37.16	3193^rd	5663	43.6%
2023	37.88	3206^th	5650	43.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.20	1720^th	4830	64.4%
2019	64.01	1465^th	4963	70.5%
2022	43.21	2649^th	5084	47.9%
2023	44.74	2575^th	5098	49.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Rio Vista Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.37	1246^th	2737	54.5%
2019	61.24	1163^rd	2834	59.0%
2022	40.62	1721^st	2726	36.9%
2023	26.44	2064^th	2662	22.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Rio Vista Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2005	164	24	21	333	8	n/a	n/a	550
2006	170	27	29	375	11	n/a	n/a	612
2007	161	25	38	409	8	n/a	n/a	641
2008	158	23	40	441	9	n/a	n/a	671
2009	166	30	41	482	17	0	0	736
2010	156	31	42	505	13	3	8	758
2011	140	27	46	494	6	2	9	724
2012	151	16	33	506	10	1	12	729
2013	146	16	37	510	7	1	14	731
2014	140	15	32	513	7	1	15	723
2015	127	12	34	531	6	1	12	723
2016	133	13	31	547	7	1	12	744
2017	122	14	26	541	2	1	14	720
2018	114	13	27	542	2	1	19	718
2019	109	17	23	539	5	0	23	716
2020	100	10	22	552	5	0	24	713
2021	90	7	26	513	6	2	19	663
2022	80	8	26	489	5	3	26	637
2023	82	15	23	530	6	3	31	690

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Rio Vista Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2005	550	24.5	22.4	55.5
2006	612	28.0	21.9	68
2007	641	29.0	22.1	48
2008	671	34.0	19.7	54.2
2009	736	33.0	21.6	61
2010	758	32.0	23.6	66.9
2011	724	n/a	n/a	71.7
2012	729	28.0	26.0	68.7
2013	731	28.0	26.1	68.3
2014	723	27.0	26.7	63.5
2015	723	29.0	24.9	76.3
2016	744	30.0	24.8	71.9
2017	720	30.0	24.0	72.2
2018	718	31.0	23.1	76.5
2019	716	32.0	22.3	81.6
2020	713	n/a	n/a	82.2
2021	663	31.5	21.0	98.5
2022	637	31.0	20.5	95.1
2023	690	33.1	20.8	96.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Rio Vista Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2005	550	24.5	22.4	55.5
2006	612	28.0	21.9	68
2007	641	29.0	22.1	48
2008	671	34.0	19.7	54.2
2009	736	33.0	21.6	61
2010	758	32.0	23.6	66.9
2011	724	n/a	n/a	71.7
2012	729	28.0	26.0	68.7
2013	731	28.0	26.1	68.3
2014	723	27.0	26.7	63.5
2015	723	29.0	24.9	76.3
2016	744	30.0	24.8	71.9
2017	720	30.0	24.0	72.2
2018	718	31.0	23.1	76.5
2019	716	32.0	22.3	81.6
2020	713	n/a	n/a	82.2
2021	663	31.5	21.0	98.5
2022	637	31.0	20.5	95.1
2023	690	33.1	20.8	96.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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