Twentynine Palms Elementary, Twentynine Palms CA

Original Research by School Decision on Twentynine Palms Elementary

Twentynine Palms Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in a small desert city shaped by Joshua Tree National Park and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center. The school enrolls roughly five hundred students, drawn from a community that is about equally white and Hispanic, with a smaller Black population and a modest share of multiracial students. About half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need in the district.

The school's academic performance in state testing shows consistent struggle across both math and English language arts. In the most recent test cycle, fewer than one in three students in grades three through six met proficiency benchmarks in either subject. The softest results came in fifth-grade math, where less than a quarter of students achieved proficiency; fourth grade performed somewhat better in both subjects, with roughly half of students meeting standard in English and just over half in math. Science proficiency, tested in fifth grade only, fell between the math and English results. Across the school's tested grades, the overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among elementary schools in San Bernardino County, but that positioning reflects a comparison group with wide variation rather than strong absolute performance. A parent may want to look further into the school's intervention or support systems and ask about strategies the school is using to lift math performance in the upper elementary grades.

The school operates as part of Morongo Unified, a district that runs four elementary and three secondary schools across the spread-out Twentynine Palms area. Data on specific district-level strategic priorities or recent changes was limited, so families should expect to gather that information directly from the district office.

Twentynine Palms itself is a town centered on a state highway corridor, with downtown amenities clustered along State Route 62. The Marine base and national park anchor the local economy and bring a transient-and-rooted population; small independent businesses, arts and culture, and tourism-related hospitality round out the economic base. Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to much of Southern California, though rent has edged upward in recent years. New residential construction is beginning to appear in neighborhoods like Turtle Rock, though development has focused more on tourism lodging than housing. The town has parks, a library, museum, community theater and galleries, and regional transit serves both the city and connections to wider areas including Palm Springs. For families drawn to a small desert community with a distinctive character, accessible parks and outdoor space, and proximity to major attractions, the location offers that setting. For those prioritizing strong academic performance, the current test results suggest this particular elementary school would warrant close questions about instruction and support before enrollment.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 32% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 18% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 25% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 32% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 38% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 35% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 38% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 24% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolMorongo Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income46%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income57%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income71%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income37%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income43%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income57%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income19%Higher-income29%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income33%14 pp gap