Is Desert Garden Elementary a good school?

Desert Garden Elementary ranks 2936 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Desert Garden Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 371 students attended Desert Garden Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Desert Garden Elementary?

Students at Desert Garden Elementary are 96% Hispanic, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Desert Garden Elementary attend?

Students who attend Desert Garden Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Wilson Junior High High : Central Union High

Desert Garden Elementary

Summary:

Desert Garden Elementary is a public elementary school located in El Centro, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 412 students. The school is part of the El Centro Elementary School District, which is ranked 890 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 2-star rating out of 5 from SchoolDigger.

Desert Garden Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom half of California elementary schools, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics below the state averages. However, the school performs relatively well in serving its English Language Learner and Hispanic student populations, ranking in the top 12% and top 40% of California elementary schools for these subgroups, respectively. Unfortunately, the school struggles with its Special Education and Disabled student populations, ranking in the bottom 40-50% of California elementary schools. Additionally, Desert Garden Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 10.4% in 2018-2019 to 47.1% in 2021-2022, which is well above the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby McKinley Elementary and Sunflower Elementary schools within the El Centro Elementary School District generally perform better than Desert Garden Elementary on state assessments and have lower chronic absenteeism rates. However, these schools also have high percentages of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, similar to Desert Garden Elementary. Additionally, the nearby Imperial Valley Home School Academy, a public charter school, outperforms Desert Garden Elementary on state assessments, particularly in English Language Arts, and has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate of 0%.

Detail:

Public K-6

1900 South Sixth St.
El Centro, CA 92243-4463

(760) 352-2051

District: El Centro Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
2936^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,578

Students who attend Desert Garden Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Wilson Junior High
High:	Central Union High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.8

Number of students: 371

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

96.2%

African American:

1.6%

White:

0.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 81.4%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Desert Garden Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Desert Garden Elementary ranks worse than 50.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 4^th among 10 ranked elementary schools in the El Centro Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 43.72. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (96.2%), African American (1.6%), White (0.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 81.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Desert Garden Elementary is 21.8, which is the lowest among 10 elementary schools in the El Centro Elementary School District! (See more...)

Compare Desert Garden Elementary employs 17 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Desert Garden Elementary is $7,578. 7 elementary schools in the El Centro Elementary School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Desert Garden Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Garden Elementary 2936^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Desert Garden Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

El Centro Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks El Centro Elementary 890^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Desert Garden Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	20.32	3911^th	4809	18.7%
2005	29.36	3323^rd	4822	31.1%
2006	19.22	4057^th	4818	15.8%
2007	27.18	3764^th	5113	26.4%
2008	42.99	2783^rd	5113	45.6%
2009	39.66	3066^th	5193	41.0%
2010	28.53	3963^rd	5314	25.4%
2011	30.37	3954^th	5377	26.5%
2012	26.66	4195^th	5390	22.2%
2013	30.66	3993^rd	5530	27.8%
2015	32.22	3530^th	5611	37.1%
2016	36.33	3308^th	5614	41.1%
2017	41.68	2998^th	5692	47.3%
2018	34.41	3514^th	5662	37.9%
2019	38.80	3259^th	5789	43.7%
2022	35.33	3434^th	5883	41.6%
2023	39.70	3159^th	5874	46.2%
2024	43.72	2936^th	5862	49.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	65.93	666^th	3246	79.5%
2019	70.23	527^th	3275	83.9%
2022	54.27	991^st	3311	70.1%
2023	81.82	244^th	3250	92.5%
2024	71.34	387^th	3160	87.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	27.00	1798^th	2420	25.7%
2024	45.27	1118^th	2634	57.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	47.21	2535^th	5084	50.1%
2019	52.17	2259^th	5173	56.3%
2022	45.11	2589^th	5264	50.8%
2023	49.66	2393^rd	5374	55.5%
2024	50.92	2329^th	5511	57.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.69	3860^th	5413	28.7%
2019	34.85	3424^th	5492	37.7%
2022	33.95	3420^th	5635	39.3%
2023	42.22	2867^th	5617	49.0%
2024	49.69	2426^th	5605	56.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	24.72	1752^nd	2227	21.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	41.61	2941^st	5431	45.8%
2019	43.71	2792^nd	5510	49.3%
2022	37.19	3192^nd	5663	43.6%
2023	37.62	3223^rd	5650	43.0%
2024	38.30	3189^th	5636	43.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Desert Garden Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	43.17	2662^nd	4830	44.9%
2019	50.85	2227^th	4963	55.1%
2022	44.24	2576^th	5084	49.3%
2023	51.98	2119^th	5098	58.4%
2024	55.68	1905^th	5102	62.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Desert Garden Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	143	19	12	315	0	n/a	n/a	0	489
1989	134	32	10	345	0	n/a	n/a	0	521
1990	121	42	14	330	0	n/a	n/a	0	507
1991	108	26	11	339	0	n/a	n/a	0	484
1992	104	27	9	356	0	n/a	n/a	0	496
1993	88	34	14	411	0	n/a	n/a	0	547
1994	81	34	12	464	0	n/a	n/a	0	591
1995	81	24	9	420	0	n/a	n/a	0	534
1996	81	24	9	420	0	n/a	n/a	0	534
1997	70	22	13	390	0	n/a	n/a	0	495
1998	53	23	8	401	0	n/a	n/a	0	485
1999	45	28	5	427	1	n/a	n/a	0	506
2000	57	36	10	437	0	n/a	n/a	0	540
2001	61	26	12	443	1	n/a	n/a	0	543
2002	49	22	14	494	0	n/a	n/a	0	579
2003	49	22	14	494	0	n/a	n/a	0	579
2004	38	11	1	436	1	n/a	n/a	0	487
2005	29	10	3	437	1	n/a	n/a	0	480
2006	25	9	2	427	0	n/a	n/a	0	463
2007	28	8	3	427	0	n/a	n/a	0	466
2008	31	14	2	420	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	467
2009	29	13	2	409	1	0	1	0	455
2010	22	9	1	397	2	0	3	0	434
2011	20	7	1	399	0	0	7	0	434
2012	12	5	0	402	0	0	5	0	424
2013	10	4	0	343	1	0	3	0	361
2014	8	2	3	327	1	0	6	0	347
2015	7	3	2	327	1	0	7	0	347
2016	8	4	4	330	1	0	14	0	361
2017	7	6	5	323	1	0	16	0	358
2018	6	7	4	368	1	0	20	0	406
2019	5	8	3	400	2	0	24	0	442
2020	6	4	4	374	0	0	16	0	404
2021	3	6	4	408	0	0	14	0	435
2022	5	10	2	491	1	0	11	1	521
2023	7	9	2	388	1	0	4	1	412
2024	3	6	1	357	1	0	2	1	371

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Desert Garden Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	489	19.0	25.7	n/a
1989	521	19.0	27.4	n/a
1990	507	20.0	25.3	n/a
1991	484	18.0	26.8	n/a
1992	496	18.3	27.1	60.3
1993	547	20.0	27.4	68.9
1994	591	21.0	28.1	83.9
1995	534	21.8	24.5	66.9
1996	534	21.8	24.5	66.9
1997	495	19.8	25.0	64.6
1998	485	18.8	25.8	72.2
1999	506	18.8	26.9	72.5
2000	540	19.6	27.6	72.8
2001	543	21.6	25.1	72
2002	579	20.6	28.1	72.2
2003	579	20.6	28.1	72.2
2004	487	21.6	22.5	72.5
2005	480	22.6	21.2	72.7
2006	463	21.6	21.4	73.2
2007	466	21.6	21.6	72.7
2008	467	24.6	19.0	74.1
2009	455	21.6	19.3	72.1
2010	434	19.6	22.1	78.6
2011	434	n/a	n/a	80.4
2012	424	15.5	27.3	n/a
2013	361	14.0	25.7	81.2
2014	347	13.0	26.6	79.8
2015	347	13.0	26.6	84.1
2016	361	13.0	27.7	84.2
2017	358	11.2	31.8	85.8
2018	406	13.5	30.0	83.7
2019	442	n/a	n/a	81.2
2020	404	n/a	n/a	87.9
2021	435	17.0	25.5	88.5
2022	521	20.0	26.0	80.8
2023	412	17.0	24.2	80.6
2024	371	17.0	21.8	81.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Desert Garden Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	489	19.0	25.7	n/a
1989	521	19.0	27.4	n/a
1990	507	20.0	25.3	n/a
1991	484	18.0	26.8	n/a
1992	496	18.3	27.1	60.3
1993	547	20.0	27.4	68.9
1994	591	21.0	28.1	83.9
1995	534	21.8	24.5	66.9
1996	534	21.8	24.5	66.9
1997	495	19.8	25.0	64.6
1998	485	18.8	25.8	72.2
1999	506	18.8	26.9	72.5
2000	540	19.6	27.6	72.8
2001	543	21.6	25.1	72
2002	579	20.6	28.1	72.2
2003	579	20.6	28.1	72.2
2004	487	21.6	22.5	72.5
2005	480	22.6	21.2	72.7
2006	463	21.6	21.4	73.2
2007	466	21.6	21.6	72.7
2008	467	24.6	19.0	74.1
2009	455	21.6	19.3	72.1
2010	434	19.6	22.1	78.6
2011	434	n/a	n/a	80.4
2012	424	15.5	27.3	n/a
2013	361	14.0	25.7	81.2
2014	347	13.0	26.6	79.8
2015	347	13.0	26.6	84.1
2016	361	13.0	27.7	84.2
2017	358	11.2	31.8	85.8
2018	406	13.5	30.0	83.7
2019	442	n/a	n/a	81.2
2020	404	n/a	n/a	87.9
2021	435	17.0	25.5	88.5
2022	521	20.0	26.0	80.8
2023	412	17.0	24.2	80.6
2024	371	17.0	21.8	81.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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