Is Desert Hills Middle School a good school?

Desert Hills Middle School ranks 146 th of 535 Washington middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Desert Hills Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 889 students attended Desert Hills Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Desert Hills Middle School?

Students at Desert Hills Middle School are 75% White, 14% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Desert Hills Middle School attend?

Students who attend Desert Hills Middle School usually go on to attend Kamiakin High School

Desert Hills Middle School

Summary:

Desert Hills Middle School is a public middle school in Kennewick, Washington, serving 889 students in grades 6-8 and part of the Kennewick School District, which is ranked 135 out of 247 districts in the state.

Desert Hills Middle School consistently outperforms the Kennewick School District and the state of Washington in academic assessments, with 61.95% of students proficient or better in SBAC/English Language Arts compared to 48.97% for the district and 52.63% for the state, and 45.82% proficient or better in SBAC/Math compared to 34.51% for the district and 41.68% for the state. The school also performs particularly well for certain student subgroups, ranking 86th out of 344 Washington middle schools for Hispanic students in SBAC/English Language Arts and 68th out of 179 for special education students. Desert Hills Middle School has consistently ranked in the top quarter of Washington middle schools, with a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Desert Hills Middle School outperforms the district and state, some nearby schools within the Kennewick School District, such as Park Middle School and Highlands Middle School, struggle significantly, ranking in the bottom quarter of Washington middle schools. This contrast may be influenced by socioeconomic factors, as Desert Hills Middle School has a lower percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients compared to the nearby schools. Additionally, the school's higher per-student spending of $13,944 in 2021-2022 may contribute to its academic success.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1701 S Clodfelter Rd
Kennewick, WA 99338-1400

(509) 222-6600

District: Kennewick School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
146^th of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,944

Students who attend Desert Hills Middle School usually attend:

High:

Kamiakin High School

Feeder schools for Desert Hills Middle School:

Elementary:	Amon Creek Elementary
	Cottonwood Elementary

Student/teacher ratio: 20.8

Number of students: 889

Racial breakdown:

White:

74.9%

Hispanic:

14.4%

Two or more races:

7.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 29.1%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Desert Hills Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Desert Hills Middle School ranks better than 72.7% of middle schools in Washington. It also ranks first among 5 ranked middle schools in the Kennewick School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 68.6. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Desert Hills Middle School has the largest middle school student body size in the Kennewick School District. Racial makeup is: White (74.9%), Hispanic (14.4%), two or more races (7.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 29.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Kennewick School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Desert Hills Middle School is 20.8, which is the highest among 5 middle schools in the Kennewick School District! (See more...)

Compare Desert Hills Middle School employs 42.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Desert Hills Middle School is $13,944, which is the lowest among 5 middle schools in the Kennewick School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Desert Hills Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Hills Middle School 146^th of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Desert Hills Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Kennewick School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Kennewick School District 135^th of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Desert Hills Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	83.07	49^th	421	88.4%
2005	80.73	63^rd	425	85.2%
2006	84.12	47^th	449	89.5%
2007	84.83	47^th	463	89.8%
2008	82.18	59^th	466	87.3%
2009	83.43	55^th	476	88.4%
2010	75.66	87^th	483	82.0%
2011	70.20	115^th	492	76.6%
2012	74.88	90^th	497	81.9%
2013	69.79	132^nd	498	73.5%
2015	65.70	142^nd	445	68.1%
2016	61.75	166^th	443	62.5%
2017	66.29	142^nd	435	67.4%
2018	69.60	119^th	437	72.8%
2019	69.35	134^th	512	73.8%
2021	71.49	131^st	529	75.2%
2022	68.76	142^nd	541	73.8%
2023	74.88	117^th	539	78.3%
2024	68.60	146^th	535	72.7%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	71.41	45^th	166	72.9%
2019	73.81	58^th	246	76.4%
2021	58.46	84^th	250	66.4%
2022	56.83	97^th	257	62.3%
2023	61.68	81^st	244	66.8%
2024	38.91	149^th	243	38.7%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	30.44	195^th	268	27.2%
2019	61.52	49^th	231	78.8%
2021	51.47	77^th	210	63.3%
2022	32.34	129^th	199	35.2%
2023	50.83	67^th	167	59.9%
2024	56.12	68^th	179	62.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	61.27	96^th	349	72.5%
2021	63.81	111^th	458	75.8%
2022	54.93	166^th	475	65.1%
2023	70.54	94^th	463	79.7%
2024	63.12	135^th	455	70.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	65.22	127^th	376	66.2%
2019	71.81	110^th	452	75.7%
2021	69.87	118^th	469	74.8%
2022	68.99	126^th	479	73.7%
2023	74.45	100^th	464	78.4%
2024	69.81	121^st	464	73.9%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	68.95	102^nd	371	72.5%
2019	64.95	134^th	453	70.4%
2021	72.76	110^th	476	76.9%
2022	66.95	126^th	480	73.8%
2023	73.57	110^th	470	76.6%
2024	66.43	128^th	466	72.5%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	62.51	57^th	161	64.6%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	44.29	52^nd	111	53.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	43.22	148^th	259	42.9%
2019	40.72	202^nd	344	41.3%
2021	77.41	52^nd	353	85.3%
2022	70.56	69^th	360	80.8%
2023	63.42	92^nd	336	72.6%
2024	66.11	86^th	344	75.0%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Desert Hills Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	62.18	117^th	325	64.0%
2019	68.76	127^th	470	73.0%
2021	65.86	140^th	480	70.8%
2022	64.12	148^th	488	69.7%
2023	72.60	110^th	488	77.5%
2024	66.63	144^th	486	70.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, 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: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Desert Hills Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	713	6	24	20	3	n/a	n/a	0	766
1989	708	10	22	19	1	n/a	n/a	0	760
1990	706	9	18	31	2	n/a	n/a	0	766
1991	783	5	18	25	2	n/a	n/a	0	833
1992	829	8	13	30	2	n/a	n/a	0	882
1993	837	11	13	40	2	n/a	n/a	0	903
1994	806	13	14	43	0	n/a	n/a	0	876
1995	735	11	18	47	1	n/a	n/a	0	812
1996	735	11	18	47	1	n/a	n/a	0	812
1997	741	6	19	42	3	n/a	n/a	0	811
1998	743	8	17	35	1	n/a	n/a	0	804
1999	750	13	15	34	1	n/a	n/a	0	813
2000	713	19	12	54	1	n/a	n/a	0	799
2001	726	14	13	62	1	n/a	n/a	0	816
2002	794	18	13	53	0	n/a	n/a	0	878
2003	794	18	13	53	0	n/a	n/a	0	878
2004	829	17	18	68	1	n/a	n/a	0	933
2005	763	18	20	68	5	n/a	n/a	0	874
2006	785	12	21	56	7	n/a	n/a	0	881
2007	720	18	24	62	8	n/a	n/a	1	833
2008	733	21	20	72	5	n/a	n/a	2	853
2009	745	23	26	82	8	n/a	n/a	6	890
2010	764	21	18	75	6	n/a	n/a	13	897
2011	774	18	26	93	6	2	0	0	919
2012	796	15	24	98	9	5	2	0	949
2013	769	17	24	131	7	6	9	0	963
2014	761	15	23	139	10	4	12	0	964
2015	784	11	24	145	7	0	19	0	990
2016	766	13	27	143	8	1	30	0	988
2017	638	11	18	116	5	0	32	0	820
2018	668	20	14	121	5	1	36	0	865
2019	704	27	17	128	4	1	31	0	912
2020	720	23	24	118	3	1	34	0	923
2021	652	17	24	129	4	0	41	1	868
2022	611	15	22	136	5	0	61	1	851
2023	666	19	10	128	3	0	63	0	889

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 Hills Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	766	36.0	21.2	0
1989	760	37.0	20.5	n/a
1990	766	37.8	20.2	0
1991	833	38.8	21.4	n/a
1992	882	38.7	22.7	n/a
1993	903	41.3	21.9	n/a
1994	876	38.9	22.5	n/a
1995	812	36.0	22.6	n/a
1996	812	36.0	22.6	n/a
1997	811	34.8	23.3	n/a
1998	804	33.8	23.8	n/a
1999	813	34.2	23.8	n/a
2000	799	37.0	21.6	n/a
2001	816	33.2	24.6	n/a
2002	878	38.4	22.9	15.3
2003	878	38.4	22.9	15.3
2004	933	42.0	22.2	13.4
2005	874	41.9	20.9	15
2006	881	41.2	21.4	12.5
2007	833	39.6	21.0	18.8
2008	853	39.5	21.6	19.9
2009	890	39.5	22.5	19.8
2010	897	39.8	22.5	19.3
2011	919	42.0	21.8	18.2
2012	949	42.4	22.3	21.9
2013	963	42.6	22.5	24.3
2014	964	n/a	n/a	25.3
2015	990	45.0	22.0	29.7
2016	988	45.0	21.9	26.5
2017	820	38.0	21.5	0
2018	865	38.8	22.2	26.4
2019	912	42.5	21.4	23.5
2020	923	42.5	21.7	26.3
2021	868	43.5	19.9	26.7
2022	851	42.3	20.1	25.7
2023	889	42.6	20.8	29.1

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 Hills Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	766	36.0	21.2	0
1989	760	37.0	20.5	n/a
1990	766	37.8	20.2	0
1991	833	38.8	21.4	n/a
1992	882	38.7	22.7	n/a
1993	903	41.3	21.9	n/a
1994	876	38.9	22.5	n/a
1995	812	36.0	22.6	n/a
1996	812	36.0	22.6	n/a
1997	811	34.8	23.3	n/a
1998	804	33.8	23.8	n/a
1999	813	34.2	23.8	n/a
2000	799	37.0	21.6	n/a
2001	816	33.2	24.6	n/a
2002	878	38.4	22.9	15.3
2003	878	38.4	22.9	15.3
2004	933	42.0	22.2	13.4
2005	874	41.9	20.9	15
2006	881	41.2	21.4	12.5
2007	833	39.6	21.0	18.8
2008	853	39.5	21.6	19.9
2009	890	39.5	22.5	19.8
2010	897	39.8	22.5	19.3
2011	919	42.0	21.8	18.2
2012	949	42.4	22.3	21.9
2013	963	42.6	22.5	24.3
2014	964	n/a	n/a	25.3
2015	990	45.0	22.0	29.7
2016	988	45.0	21.9	26.5
2017	820	38.0	21.5	0
2018	865	38.8	22.2	26.4
2019	912	42.5	21.4	23.5
2020	923	42.5	21.7	26.3
2021	868	43.5	19.9	26.7
2022	851	42.3	20.1	25.7
2023	889	42.6	20.8	29.1

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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