Margaret White Elementary, Blythe CA

Original Research by School Decision on Margaret White Elementary

Margaret White Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Blythe, California, and is part of the Palo Verde Unified School District. The school enrolls students across all grade bands, with a substantial enrollment spread fairly evenly from early elementary through the middle grades. A large share of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of families in the area. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller populations of white, Black, and other students.

The school's state test results are low across both English language arts and mathematics. In math, proficiency across tested grades ranges from single digits in the upper elementary and middle grades to roughly in the low-twenties range in third grade. English language arts proficiency is comparably low, with most grades in the teens and low-twenties range, though sixth and seventh grades reach into the high-twenties and low-thirties. Science proficiency, available for fifth and eighth grades on California's science test, is similarly in the early-to-mid-teens range. Among the county's districts, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile.

The reading on these results should account for the school's context. Margaret White sits in a lower-income community with high economic need among the families it serves. Low proficiency scores on state tests often correlate with concentrated poverty, and this school's numbers align with that pattern. A parent may want to ask the school directly about what support systems are in place for students performing below grade level, what intervention or tutoring the school offers, and what the school's strategic approach is to moving proficiency upward over time.

The school is currently set for a significant structural change. The Palo Verde Unified School District is implementing a grade-span reconfiguration effective in the 2026-2027 school year. This reorganization will shift which grades are housed at which sites across the district and will establish a separate middle school configuration. Margaret White is expected to be one of the elementary sites in this new arrangement, which means changes to bell schedules, transportation, staffing, and which grades students will attend at this location. Families should expect communication from the district about what this transition looks like for their child's placement and timing.

The housing market in the Blythe area is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, reflecting the community's economic profile. Most families in the school's attendance area would find homes well within a modest budget. This affordability may be relevant to families relocating to the area for work or other reasons, though the broader economic conditions and high poverty rates at the school suggest that affordability alone does not guarantee family economic stability.

For a parent considering Margaret White, the key factors are the school's low academic performance on state assessments, the high-poverty student population it serves, and the upcoming grade-span reorganization that will affect school structure and operations in the near term. The school is a neighborhood option for families living in Blythe, and understanding its current academic standing and the upcoming changes should inform the decision-making process.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 13% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 8% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 10% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 12% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 10% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 21% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 19% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 26% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 37% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 26%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 11% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 11% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolPalo Verde 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-income16%Higher-income35%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income12%Higher-income24%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income54%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income35%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income24%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income23%14 pp gap