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Desert Sands Unified Schools
Desert Sands Unified is a public school district in California, based in Riverside County (La Quinta). SchoolGrade grades 33 of its schools on actual versus projected test scores; every school below has its own page.
Desert Sands Unified on the map
District boundary from the NCES EDGE composite school district file. Each marker is a graded school; click it for its grade and scores.
SchoolGrade summary for Desert Sands Unified
14 of 33 schools in Desert Sands Unified carry a SchoolGrade (19 have too little test data to grade). Grade distribution:
A: 1B: 4C: 2D: 3F: 4
Best schools in Desert Sands Unified
Statewide rankings: all 1051 high schools in California · all 513 middle schools in California · all 1758 elementary schools in California
The ten highest SchoolGrades in the district. Grades reward actual test performance against the projection for each school's student context, so a B in a high-poverty school can outrank an A- elsewhere on impact.
- A- George Washington Charter (Elementary school, greatly exceeds expectations)
- B+ Desert Ridge Academy (Middle school, greatly exceeds expectations)
- B+ Horizon (K-12 school, greatly exceeds expectations)
- B La Quinta High (High school, greatly exceeds expectations)
- B Palm Desert High (High school, meets expectations)
- C Shadow Hills High (High school, meets expectations)
- C- Indio High (High school, meets expectations)
- D+ Gerald R Ford Elementary (Elementary school, doesn't meet expectations)
- D+ La Quinta Middle (Middle school, meets expectations)
- D- Summit High Continuation (K-12 school, doesn't meet expectations)
Every school in Desert Sands Unified
High schools (6)
- F Amistad High Continuation, Indio
- C- Indio High, Indio
- B La Quinta High, La Quinta
- B Palm Desert High, Palm Desert
- C Shadow Hills High, Indio
- D- Summit High Continuation, La Quinta
Middle and junior high schools (7)
- F Colonel Mitchell Paige Middle, La Quinta
- Dr Reynaldo J Carreon JR Academy, Indio
- Indio Middle, Indio
- F John Glenn Middle School Of International Studies, Indio
- D+ La Quinta Middle, La Quinta
- Palm Desert Charter Middle, Palm Desert
- Thomas Jefferson Middle, Indio
Elementary and primary schools (17)
- Abraham Lincoln Elementary, Palm Desert
- Amelia Earhart Elementary School Of International Studies, Indio
- Andrew Jackson Elementary, Indio
- Benjamin Franklin Elementary, La Quinta
- Carrillo Ranch Elementary, Indio
- D+ Gerald R Ford Elementary, Indian Wells
- Harry S Truman Elementary, La Quinta
- Herbert Hoover Elementary, Indio
- James Earl Carter Elementary, Palm Desert
- James Madison Elementary, La Quinta
- James Monroe Elementary, Bermuda Dunes
- John F Kennedy Elementary, Indio
- Lyndon B Johnson Elementary, Indio
- F Martin Van Buren Elementary, Indio
- Richard R Oliphant Elementary, Indio
- Ronald Reagan Elementary, Palm Desert
- Theodore Roosevelt Elementary, Indio
Other schools and academies (3)
- B+ Desert Ridge Academy, Indio
- A- George Washington Charter, Palm Desert
- B+ Horizon, La Quinta
Where Desert Sands Unified schools are
Cities and towns served (4)
- Indio (17)
- La Quinta (8)
- Palm Desert (6)
- Indian Wells (1)
About this district
- State: Best schools in California
- County: Riverside County
- Type: regular local school district
- Setting: large suburb (NCES locale of the district office)
- Enrollment: 25,898 students with 1,088 full-time-equivalent teachers and 2,468 total staff FTE (NCES CCD, 2023-24)
- NCES district ID: 0611110
- Grades are the 2025-26 SchoolGrade model: each school's actual proficiency against the level projected for its student context. How SchoolGrade works
Nearby school districts
- Palm Springs Unified (27 schools, 20 mi)
- Coachella Valley Unified (21 schools, 24 mi)
- Morongo Unified (16 schools, 28 mi)
- Banning Unified (9 schools, 38 mi)
- Borrego Springs Unified (3 schools, 39 mi)
- Hemet Unified (27 schools, 41 mi)
- Calipatria Unified (4 schools, 49 mi)
- Bear Valley Unified (6 schools, 49 mi)
Questions about Desert Sands Unified
How many schools are in Desert Sands Unified?
SchoolGrade grades 33 public schools in Desert Sands Unified, across 4 cities and towns. Every one of them is listed on this page with a link to its own report.
Which cities does Desert Sands Unified serve?
The largest by graded schools: Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Indian Wells.
How good are the schools in Desert Sands Unified?
Across the 14 graded schools, the average SchoolGrade is C-, with 29.6% of tested students meeting the state bar against a projected 29.4%. 64% of schools meet or exceed the expectation for their student context.
How many students attend Desert Sands Unified?
25,898 students were enrolled in Desert Sands Unified in the 2023-24 school year, about 23.8 students per full-time teacher (NCES Common Core of Data).
Where is Desert Sands Unified?
Desert Sands Unified is in California, based in Riverside County, with its district office in La Quinta. Its boundary covers about 768 sq mi.