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If you could change one rule at Painted Hills Middle, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
722
Middle
DISTRICT 825 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALM SPRINGS UNIFIED·NCES 062955012795
Painted Hills Middle
9250 Sonora Dr., Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240 · (760) 251-1551 · Riverside County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL722 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 19% of California public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.7:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
702 students
DISTRICT 94% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 239 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 248 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 235 | 33% |
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · 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
24.9%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.9pp since 2014
Math
13.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +0.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 25 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 13 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 5.3% | 19.6% | 27.6% | 47.5% |
| Math | 3.8% | 9.3% | 21.2% | 65.7% |
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 | 24.9% | 13.1% |
| 2023-24 | 24.5% | 10.3% |
| 2022-23 | 24.2% | 10.8% |
| 2021-22 | 25.0% | 11.4% |
| 2018-19 | 25.4% | 13.5% |
| 2017-18 | 29.3% | 12.9% |
| 2016-17 | 28.5% | 11.5% |
| 2015-16 | 20.0% | 9.0% |
| 2014-15 | 23.0% | 13.0% |
% 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
18.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 Painted Hills Middle
Painted Hills Middle's state test result (18.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Painted Hills Middle this school | 722 | 97.2% | 18.2% |
| Desert Springs Middle Desert Hot Springs | 749 | 96.7% | 16.2% |
| Raymond Cree Middle Palm Springs | 721 | 97.1% | 32.2% |
| Van Nuys Middle Van Nuys | 726 | 92.8% | 30.8% |
| Joseph Le Conte Middle Hollywood | 627 | 94.7% | 21.4% |
| Sierra Middle Bakersfield | 731 | 96.4% | 15.3% |
Matched among California middle 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 Painted Hills Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Riverside County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.2% | #1,090 of 1,224 | #66 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 13.1% | #1,060 of 1,227 ▲ 44 | #60 of 78 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 24.9% | #1,095 of 1,227 ▼ 28 | #67 of 78 ▼ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.8pp | #767 of 1,214 | #52 of 77 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 722 | #561 of 1,377 | #63 of 79 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.7:1 | #748 of 1,279 | #31 of 78 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 34.6% | #889 of 1,278 | #56 of 77 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 97.2% | #36 of 1,329 | #2 of 78 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.9% | #657 of 930 | #42 of 61 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
722
-54 (-7%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
was 22.8:1
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 | 722 | 33.3 | 21.7:1 | 97% (702) |
| 2023-24 | 744 | 35.2 | 21.2:1 | 97% (718) |
| 2022-23 | 741 | 33.9 | 21.8:1 | 98% (728) |
| 2020-21 | 776 | 34 | 22.8:1 | 100% (773) |
| 2017-18 | 801 | 31.7 | 25.3:1 | 95% (758) |
| 2015-16 | 831 | 33 | 25.2:1 | 93% (772) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Painted Hills Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 10% (801 to 722); teachers up 5% (31.7 to 33.3).
About Painted Hills Middle
At 9250 Sonora Dr. in Desert Hot Springs, California, Painted Hills Middle operates as a medium-sized middle school. Enrolled students number 722 students, in grades 6 through 8.
The Palm Springs Unified system has 27 schools and 20,007 students.
The large majority of students at Painted Hills Middle, 80%, are Hispanic. The next largest groups are 9% White, 5% multiracial, and 5% Black. The school's Hispanic share is 29 points above the 51% share among Riverside County residents. By the diversity index, Painted Hills Middle comes in at 35%.
The teaching staff at Painted Hills Middle is 33.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 21.7:1. That ratio is over the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 97%. The rate at public schools in Riverside County averages 74%, lower than here.
allk12 grades Painted Hills Middle a C-. The grade compares the school only with California public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
In California, Painted Hills Middle is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 18.2% actual against a predicted 22.6%.
Painted Hills Middle is located in Riverside County, where median household income is about $93,074, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 543 public schools in Riverside County, with a combined enrollment of about 424,872.
The nearest public school is Bella Vista Elementary, at about 0.2 miles. Painted Hills Middle has 7 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 23.8% proficiency; Painted Hills Middle posts 18.2%.
Painted Hills Middle falls in the Town: Fringe locale category, used for schools in a town close to an urbanized area.
The number of students declined from 776 to 722 over 4 years. Students per teacher fell from 22.8 in 2020-21 to 21.7 in 2024-25.
Community posts for Painted Hills Middle can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 Palm Springs Unified
- Desert Hot Springs HighHigh · 1,687 students
- Palm Springs HighHigh · 1,497 students
- Rancho Mirage HighHigh · 1,401 students
- Cathedral City HighHigh · 1,334 students
- James Workman MiddleMiddle · 1,020 students
- Nellie N. Coffman MiddleMiddle · 914 students
Other schools in Desert Hot Springs
- Desert Hot Springs HighHigh · 1,687 students
- Bella Vista ElementaryElementary · 779 students
- Desert Springs MiddleMiddle · 749 students
- Two Bunch Palms ElementaryElementary · 717 students
- Cabot Yerxa ElementaryElementary · 664 students
- Bubbling Wells ElementaryElementary · 581 students
Nearby schools
- Bella Vista Elementary0.2 mi · 779
- Desert Hot Springs High1.2 mi · 1,687
- Cabot Yerxa Elementary2.2 mi · 664
- Two Bunch Palms Elementary2.5 mi · 717
- Desert Springs Middle2.7 mi · 749
- Bubbling Wells Elementary3.5 mi · 581
Frequently asked questions
About Painted Hills MiddleHow large is Painted Hills Middle?
Painted Hills Middle enrolls approximately 722 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Painted Hills Middle serve?
Painted Hills Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Painted Hills Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Painted Hills Middle is approximately 21.7:1 (33 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Painted Hills Middle?
At Painted Hills Middle, the student body is approximately 9% White, 80% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Painted Hills Middle public or private?
Painted Hills Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Palm Springs Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.