Is Benjamin Franklin Elementary a good school?

Benjamin Franklin Elementary ranks 3704 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 622 students attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Benjamin Franklin Elementary?

Students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary are 80% Hispanic, 14% White, 4% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Benjamin Franklin Elementary attend?

Students who attend Benjamin Franklin Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : La Quinta Middle High : La Quinta High

Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Summary:

Benjamin Franklin Elementary is a public elementary school in La Quinta, CA, serving 619 students in grades K-5 and part of the Desert Sands Unified school district.

While Benjamin Franklin Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 13.9% in 2018-2019 to 48.2% in 2021-2022, its test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, only 37.28% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 39.07% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with Hispanic students performing relatively better than White students and English Language Learners.

While some nearby schools, such as George Washington Charter and Gerald R. Ford Elementary, perform significantly better than Benjamin Franklin Elementary, others, like James Madison Elementary and John F. Kennedy Elementary, also struggle with low test scores and high chronic absenteeism rates. The high rates of free/reduced lunch and chronic absenteeism at Benjamin Franklin Elementary may be contributing to the school's lower academic performance, and addressing these underlying issues could be crucial in improving student outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-5

77-800 Calle Tampico
La Quinta, CA 92253-3841

(760) 238-9424

District: Desert Sands Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3704^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,248

Students who attend Benjamin Franklin Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	La Quinta Middle
High:	La Quinta High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.2

Number of students: 622

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

79.7%

White:

13.8%

Two or more races:

4.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 79.1%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Benjamin Franklin Elementary ranks worse than 63.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 9^th among 18 ranked elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 32.77. (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 (79.7%), White (13.8%), two or more races (4.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 79.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Benjamin Franklin Elementary is 22.2, which is the 3^rd best among 18 elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Benjamin Franklin Elementary employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Benjamin Franklin Elementary is $8,248, which is the 9^th highest among 18 elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Benjamin Franklin Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Benjamin Franklin Elementary 3704^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Benjamin Franklin Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Desert Sands Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Sands Unified 1011^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Benjamin Franklin Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2007	54.38	2089^th	5113	59.1%
2008	55.11	2101^st	5113	58.9%
2009	45.59	2724^th	5193	47.5%
2010	61.75	1894^th	5314	64.4%
2011	52.50	2449^th	5377	54.5%
2012	53.55	2425^th	5390	55.0%
2013	49.61	2713^th	5530	50.9%
2015	42.47	2885^th	5611	48.6%
2016	61.57	1919^th	5614	65.8%
2017	42.89	2928^th	5692	48.6%
2018	43.32	2938^th	5662	48.1%
2019	39.09	3243^rd	5789	44.0%
2022	32.09	3691^st	5883	37.3%
2023	28.77	4001^st	5874	31.9%
2024	32.77	3704^th	5862	36.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	51.59	1175^th	3246	63.8%
2019	58.08	890^th	3275	72.8%
2022	27.38	2794^th	3311	15.6%
2023	32.91	2330^th	3250	28.3%
2024	28.94	2611^th	3160	17.4%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	17.92	2273^rd	2420	6.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	47.23	2533^rd	5084	50.2%
2019	44.07	2816^th	5173	45.6%
2022	43.23	2748^th	5264	47.8%
2023	34.29	3546^th	5374	34.0%
2024	42.09	2979^th	5511	45.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	40.97	3025^th	5413	44.1%
2019	36.09	3337^th	5492	39.2%
2022	34.52	3366^th	5635	40.3%
2023	30.51	3709^th	5617	34.0%
2024	30.24	3771^st	5605	32.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	37.23	1127^th	2128	47.0%
2019	42.60	1206^th	2585	53.3%
2022	26.32	1674^th	2227	24.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	45.36	2701^st	5431	50.3%
2019	41.86	2921^st	5510	47.0%
2022	30.41	3748^th	5663	33.8%
2023	27.87	3968^th	5650	29.8%
2024	35.48	3377^th	5636	40.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	53.21	2019^th	4830	58.2%
2019	45.23	2596^th	4963	47.7%
2022	45.82	2467^th	5084	51.5%
2023	31.98	3549^th	5098	30.4%
2024	43.35	2721^st	5102	46.7%

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

Rank History for White students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	34.41	1971^st	2737	28.0%
2019	44.94	1703^rd	2834	39.9%
2022	16.32	2361^st	2726	13.4%
2023	35.88	1837^th	2662	31.0%
2024	29.11	1988^th	2647	24.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White 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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2006	150	10	4	403	2	n/a	n/a	18	587
2007	152	18	9	448	3	n/a	n/a	29	659
2008	171	18	13	442	1	n/a	n/a	0	645
2009	130	13	8	441	1	3	26	0	622
2010	152	9	6	433	2	2	7	0	611
2011	135	11	7	463	2	2	10	0	630
2012	131	9	3	455	1	2	16	0	617
2013	113	10	5	423	2	0	18	0	571
2014	98	11	7	398	3	1	18	0	536
2015	93	15	6	389	2	1	15	0	521
2016	104	12	7	362	2	0	12	0	499
2017	148	19	7	536	2	0	18	0	730
2018	131	19	7	534	2	0	21	0	714
2019	103	20	8	525	2	0	17	0	675
2020	92	17	7	481	0	0	15	0	612
2021	79	13	6	453	1	1	18	0	571
2022	92	10	5	438	0	2	20	0	567
2023	93	11	3	482	0	2	27	1	619
2024	86	9	3	496	0	2	26	0	622

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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2006	587	32.0	18.3	56.6
2007	659	31.3	21.1	55.7
2008	645	32.8	19.7	64
2009	622	31.0	18.8	67.2
2010	611	28.0	21.8	67.4
2011	630	n/a	n/a	71.4
2012	617	24.0	25.7	n/a
2013	571	22.0	25.9	75.3
2014	536	20.2	26.5	60.1
2015	521	21.0	24.8	71.2
2016	499	21.0	23.7	71.7
2017	730	31.1	23.4	74.1
2018	714	30.0	23.8	75.9
2019	675	28.5	23.6	74.5
2020	612	n/a	n/a	74.5
2021	571	24.0	23.7	89.7
2022	567	24.5	23.0	86.6
2023	619	25.5	24.2	78.2
2024	622	28.0	22.2	79.1

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 Benjamin Franklin Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2006	587	32.0	18.3	56.6
2007	659	31.3	21.1	55.7
2008	645	32.8	19.7	64
2009	622	31.0	18.8	67.2
2010	611	28.0	21.8	67.4
2011	630	n/a	n/a	71.4
2012	617	24.0	25.7	n/a
2013	571	22.0	25.9	75.3
2014	536	20.2	26.5	60.1
2015	521	21.0	24.8	71.2
2016	499	21.0	23.7	71.7
2017	730	31.1	23.4	74.1
2018	714	30.0	23.8	75.9
2019	675	28.5	23.6	74.5
2020	612	n/a	n/a	74.5
2021	571	24.0	23.7	89.7
2022	567	24.5	23.0	86.6
2023	619	25.5	24.2	78.2
2024	622	28.0	22.2	79.1

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.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates