1
What clubs or activities at La Quinta High are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,425
High
DISTRICT 1,225 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DESERT SANDS UNIFIED·NCES 061111003582
La Quinta High
79-255 Blackhawk Way, La Quinta, CA 92253 · (760) 772-4150 · Riverside County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,425 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of California public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public high schools
Student : Teacher
24.8:1
98 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.5:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
1,804 students
DISTRICT 79% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 673 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 611 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 595 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 546 | 23% |
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
64.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -12.0pp since 2014
Math
29.6%
CA avg 37.7% . -9.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 12 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 9 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 28.1% | 36.0% | 17.9% | 18.1% |
| Math | 10.0% | 19.5% | 26.3% | 44.2% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 64.0% | 29.6% |
| 2023-24 | 64.9% | 23.7% |
| 2022-23 | 65.1% | 24.0% |
| 2021-22 | 47.9% | 21.6% |
| 2020-21 | 65.5% | 31.6% |
| 2018-19 | 57.5% | 30.7% |
| 2017-18 | 63.3% | 27.0% |
| 2016-17 | 74.8% | 34.3% |
| 2015-16 | 78.0% | 39.0% |
| 2014-15 | 76.0% | 39.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
45.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like La Quinta High
La Quinta High's state test result (45.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Quinta High this school | 2,425 | 74.4% | 45.6% |
| Salinas High Salinas | 2,380 | 77.5% | 50.2% |
| Thomas Downey High Modesto | 2,192 | 76.0% | 32.9% |
| John F. Kennedy High Granada Hills | 2,152 | 72.0% | 45.4% |
| Golden West High Visalia | 2,059 | 70.7% | 30.1% |
| Tulare Western High Tulare | 1,927 | 72.7% | 43.3% |
Matched among California high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where La Quinta High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Riverside County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.6% | #395 of 1,052 | #17 of 60 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.6% | #438 of 1,056 ▲ 69 | #19 of 60 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #377 of 1,056 ▼ 38 | #16 of 60 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +12.1pp | #83 of 1,044 | #2 of 59 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,425 | #119 of 2,093 | #14 of 100 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.8:1 | #1,194 of 1,352 | #61 of 75 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.5% | #874 of 1,351 | #44 of 75 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.4% | #764 of 1,575 | #64 of 89 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.9% | #465 of 802 | #28 of 48 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,425
-86 (-3%) vs 2020
+19% since 2000-01, when it was 2,040
Student : Teacher
24.8:1
was 27.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,425 | 97.8 | 24.8:1 | 74% (1,804) |
| 2023-24 | 2,488 | 97.5 | 25.5:1 | 73% (1,826) |
| 2022-23 | 2,500 | 101.1 | 24.7:1 | 74% (1,841) |
| 2020-21 | 2,511 | 90 | 27.9:1 | 54% (1,353) |
| 2017-18 | 2,691 | 99.7 | 27.0:1 | 54% (1,456) |
| 2015-16 | 2,740 | 100 | 27.4:1 | 50% (1,362) |
| 2010-11 | 2,968 | N/A | N/A | 42% (1,247) |
| 2000-01 | 2,040 | 84 | 24.3:1 | 28% (571) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for La Quinta High.
Since 2017-18: students down 10% (2,691 to 2,425); teachers down 2% (99.7 to 97.8).
About La Quinta High
Among the schools in La Quinta, California, is La Quinta High, a high-enrollment high school. The school enrolls 2,425 students, from grades 9 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in California) has about 838 students.
Desert Sands Unified runs La Quinta High along with 33 other schools, enrolling 25,613 students in total.
Hispanic students account for 77% of enrollment at La Quinta High. Enrollment also includes 16% White, 3% multiracial, and 3% Asian. The school's Hispanic share is 25 points above the 51% share among Riverside County residents. By the diversity index, La Quinta High comes in at 38%.
La Quinta High's 97.8 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 24.8:1. For comparison, high schools in California average 18.2:1. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 74%. That is close to the 74% average for public schools in Riverside County.
allk12 grades La Quinta High an A-. The grade compares the school only with California public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for La Quinta High is +9.6 points: 45.6% actual, 36.0% predicted.
Census Bureau estimates for Riverside County show that median household income is about $93,074, roughly 26% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. La Quinta High is one of 543 public schools in Riverside County, which together enroll about 424,872 students.
The closest public school, Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies, is about 0.5 miles from La Quinta High. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 7 nearby schools with scores, including this one, La Quinta High is 1st on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 2,511 in 2020-21 and 2,425 in 2024-25, a decrease of 86 students. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 27.9:1 in 2020-21 to 24.8:1 in 2024-25.
Threads on this page can be about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Riverside County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,478,600
Census ACS
Median income
$93,074
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
543
424,872 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Desert Sands Unified
- Palm Desert HighHigh · 2,079 students
- Indio HighHigh · 1,962 students
- Shadow Hills HighHigh · 1,650 students
- Palm Desert Charter MiddleMiddle · 1,298 students
- John Glenn Middle School of International StudiesMiddle · 1,099 students
- Desert Ridge AcademyMiddle · 962 students
Other schools in La Quinta
- La Quinta MiddleMiddle · 709 students
- Harry S. Truman ElementaryElementary · 635 students
- Benjamin Franklin ElementaryElementary · 627 students
- Colonel Mitchell Paige MiddleMiddle · 439 students
- HorizonCombined · 286 students
- Summit High (Continuation)High · 195 students
Other La Quinta High schools
One other US public school is named La Quinta High. La Quinta High is the largest of the 2.
- La Quinta HighWestminster, CA · 2,041 students
Nearby schools
- Amelia Earhart Elementary School of International Studies0.5 mi · 748
- John Glenn Middle School of International Studies0.6 mi · 1,099
- James Madison Elementary1.5 mi · 403
- La Quinta Middle1.8 mi · 709
- Summit High (Continuation)1.8 mi · 195
- Horizon1.8 mi · 286
Frequently asked questions
About La Quinta HighWhat is the total enrollment at La Quinta High?
La Quinta High enrolls approximately 2,425 students in grades 09-12.
Is La Quinta High an elementary, middle, or high school?
La Quinta High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at La Quinta High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at La Quinta High is approximately 24.8:1 (98 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at La Quinta High?
At La Quinta High, the student body is approximately 16% White, 77% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is La Quinta High public or private?
La Quinta High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Desert Sands Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.