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Painted Hills Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2433^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 12% of California middle schools

Summary

Painted Hills Middle is a public school serving about 722 students in grades 6-8 in Desert Hot Springs, part of the Palm Springs Unified district, where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with student proficiency in English, math, and science well below both district and state averages; for example, only about 13% of students met math standards in 2024-2025. A major factor is chronic absenteeism, with about 45% of students missing too much school, which is more than double the state average and strongly linked to lower academic performance. Compared to other middle schools in the same district, like James Workman Middle and Raymond Cree Middle, Painted Hills has the lowest test scores and one of the highest absenteeism rates.

Interestingly, despite having the highest per-student spending in its district, the school's results are the lowest, suggesting resources may not be effectively translating to classroom success. However, the school shows some relative strengths in supporting specific groups of students, such as those experiencing homelessness. The school's performance has remained consistently low over the past decade, and its struggles are shared by the other middle school in Desert Hot Springs, Desert Springs Middle, indicating broader community factors may be at play beyond the school's control.

722

Students ?

21.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,451

Per pupil spending ?

97.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

9250 Sonora Dr.
Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240-1585

(760) 251-1551

District: Palm Springs Unified

Students who attend Painted Hills Middle usually attend:

High:

Desert Hot Springs High

Feeder schools for Painted Hills Middle:

Elementary:	Bella Vista Elementary
	Two Bunch Palms Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

80.1%

White:

8.9%

Two or more races:

5.3%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 15th percentile in 2013 → 12th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (18% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg27%

California avg41%

2,433^rd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 12%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 17% (2015) to bottom 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th 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	15.2	2433 of 2761	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	2418 of 2783	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	2373 of 2781	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.3	2386 of 2740	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.2	2413 of 2715	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.1	2109 of 2480	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.4	2168 of 2508	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	10.0	2340 of 2497	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	18.8	2055 of 2477	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	19.8	2020 of 2379	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	41.5	330 of 609	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.5	324 of 627	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.4	339 of 613	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.0	501 of 637	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.4	543 of 643	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.8	552 of 600	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	30.6	1040 of 1531	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.1	1395 of 1491	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	1283 of 1369	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	33.0	1071 of 1478	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.5	1143 of 1521	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	36.1	929 of 1540	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.8	1130 of 1442	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	1091 of 1364	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.1	2328 of 2533	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	2164 of 2551	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.1	2162 of 2531	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.1	2261 of 2509	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.4	2097 of 2380	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.1	1873 of 2262	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	2075 of 2395	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.7	2062 of 2388	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	2005 of 2374	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.4	2029 of 2359	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.8	1923 of 2213	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	1675 of 2072	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	47.0	219 of 477	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	49.0	165 of 394	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	30.8	233 of 320	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.1	288 of 336	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.2	2134 of 2542	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	2138 of 2579	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.0	2002 of 2531	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.3	2020 of 2458	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.3	2079 of 2369	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.7	1849 of 2230	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.2	2191 of 2534	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.3	2277 of 2552	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.2	2170 of 2538	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.2	2145 of 2527	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.5	2232 of 2407	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.6	2064 of 2273	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.4	690 of 726	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.3	684 of 701	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	25.5	1262 of 1566	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.5	1297 of 1552	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.2	1339 of 1531	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	1373 of 1520	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.9	1319 of 1537	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	1323 of 1543	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	1379 of 1555	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	6.0	1547 of 1602	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	1355 of 1496	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)54th percentile+42 vs school

African American (2025)46th percentile+34 vs school

Disabled (2022)32nd percentile+19 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)28th percentile+14 vs school

Special Education (2025)19th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)16th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)14th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)13th percentile~ school

White (2025)10th percentile~ school

Female (2025)8th percentile-4 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)5th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy25%-24 vs state

Mathematics13%-24 vs state

Science9%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Painted Hills 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 (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 (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/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
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	$20,451	$19,582	$869
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	$20,431	$19,336	$1,095
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	$22,004	$20,930	$1,074
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	$20,481	$19,594	$887
La Contenta Middle	Public	7-8	7050 La Contenta Rd.	Yucca Valley	92284	San Bernardino County	Morongo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 228-1802	647	33	19.5	70.2%	349 (53.9%)	30 (4.6%)	232 (35.9%)	8 (1.2%)	8 (1.2%)	6 (0.9%)	13 (2.0%)	29.4	1847^th of 2761 public middle schools	33.1%		28.6	1875^th of 2783 public middle schools	32.6%	28													26.8	26.8		36.9	34.9	35.9		21.3	12.3	16.8	$21,908	$20,336	$1,572
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	$19,745	$18,724	$1,021
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	$29,144	$28,914	$230

Frequently Asked Questions about Painted Hills Middle

What district is Painted Hills Middle in?

Palm Springs Unified

What high school do graduates of Painted Hills Middle attend?

Students who attend Painted Hills Middle usually go on to attend Desert Hot Springs High

Is Painted Hills Middle a good school?

Painted Hills Middle ranks in the bottom 11.9% of California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Painted Hills Middle?

Students at Painted Hills Middle are 80% Hispanic, 9% White, 5% Two or more races, 5% African American.

How many students attend Painted Hills Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 722 students attended Painted Hills Middle.

Rate Painted Hills Middle!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.