Summary:
Zip code 92254 has two K–6 elementary schools: Saul Martinez Elementary (961 students) and Mecca Elementary (677), both in Coachella Valley Unified. Since they serve the same grades, their schoolwide and grade-level results can be compared directly. In 2025–2026, both schools were below California proficiency rates in English language arts (ELA), math, and science; averaged across the schools, results were 24 points below the state in ELA, 21 points below in math, and 22 points below in science. The most important shared finding is that low proficiency compared with the state is a greater area-wide concern than the overall differences between the two schools.
Saul Martinez leads in math and science: 21% versus 15% in math, a 7-point advantage, and 15% versus 13% in science, a 2-point advantage. ELA is virtually tied, with both schools at about 25.5%. Grade-level results add important nuance: Saul leads in grade 4 math by 20 points, while Mecca leads in grade 3 math by 6 points. In ELA, the schools trade grade-level leads, and grade 6 is the strongest ELA grade at both. Thus, the overall math advantage does not hold in every grade, and the near-tie in ELA does not mean results match across all grades.
From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Saul’s proficiency fell by 3 points in ELA, 2 in math, and 1 in science; Mecca fell by 1 in ELA and 5 in math, but rose by 3 in science. SchoolDigger’s latest rankings place Saul 4,930th of 5,804 schools, in the 15th percentile with 1 star, and Mecca 5,251st, in the 10th percentile with 0 stars. Across the three reported years, neither school improved consistently: Saul’s percentile went 20, 21, then 15; Mecca’s went 4, 15, then 10. Context measures are similar: in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible was 96% at Saul and 97% at Mecca, while student-teacher ratios were 23.2 and 22.4. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 34% and 33%, respectively—both above the state’s 18%.
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