1
What's the biggest difference between Cooley Middle School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
795
Middle
DISTRICT 945 · STATE 494
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HIGLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (4248)·NCES 040378003381
Cooley Middle School
1100 S RECKER RD, GILBERT, AZ 85296 · (480) 279-8300 · Maricopa County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL795 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 17.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 95%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 389 | 49% |
| Grade 8 | 406 | 51% |
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 65% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
AASA 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
50.0%
AZ avg 45.4% . -5.0pp since 2017
Math
40.0%
AZ avg 37.8% . -15.0pp since 2017
What this means: On the AASA, Arizona's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arizona schools, those numbers are about 45 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2017, while math scores are down about 15 points.
AASA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 50.0% | 40.0% |
| 2023-24 | 47.0% | 37.0% |
| 2022-23 | 46.0% | 41.0% |
| 2021-22 | 49.0% | 46.0% |
| 2020-21 | 45.0% | 50.0% |
| 2018-19 | 58.0% | 53.0% |
| 2017-18 | 55.0% | 55.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AASA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Cooley Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Arizona | In Maricopa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #39 of 190 ▲ 4 | #28 of 87 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.0% | #43 of 190 ▲ 2 | #30 of 87 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.5pp | #53 of 160 | #29 of 78 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 795 | #31 of 214 | #24 of 96 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #41 of 179 | #13 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.0% | #31 of 182 | #17 of 86 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.8% | #126 of 139 | #66 of 69 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
795
-95 (-11%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 18.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 795 | 51.8 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 850 | 49 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 873 | 51.2 | 17.1:1 | 24% (209) |
| 2020-21 | 890 | 48 | 18.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 844 | 41.4 | 20.4:1 | 22% (185) |
| 2015-16 | 959 | 37 | 25.9:1 | 10% (92) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cooley Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (844 to 795); teachers up 25% (41.4 to 51.8).
About Cooley Middle School
At 1100 S RECKER RD in GILBERT, Arizona, Cooley Middle School operates as a large middle-grades school. It covers grades 6 through 8, with a total enrollment of 795 students. Enrollment is 61% higher than the average for middle schools in Arizona, which is about 494.
Higley Unified School District (4248) is the district for Cooley Middle School. It has 16 schools and 12,387 students.
Cooley Middle School is 53% White by enrollment. The remaining students are 26% Hispanic, 8% Black, 7% multiracial, and 4% Asian. Pick two students at random and there is a 64% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Cooley Middle School employs 51.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 15.3:1. This ratio sits 2.4 below the 17.8:1 average for middle schools in Arizona.
Census estimates describe Maricopa County this way: the median household income is $89,300, 37% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Cooley Middle School, Maricopa County has 1,351 other public schools.
Elona P. Cooley Early Child Development Center is located less than a tenth of a mile from Cooley Middle School. The five-mile area around Cooley Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools.
Federal data place Cooley Middle School in the City: Large locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment has fallen by 95 students since 2020-21, to 795. The school's ratio fell from 18.5:1 to 15.3:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Maricopa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,559,748
Census ACS
Median income
$89,300
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,352
725,139 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Higley Unified School District (4248)
- Williams Field High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Higley High SchoolHigh · 2,005 students
- Sossaman Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,094 students
- San Tan ElementaryElementary · 854 students
- Bridges Elementary SchoolElementary · 770 students
- Chaparral Elementary SchoolElementary · 734 students
Other schools in GILBERT
- Highland High SchoolHigh · 2,992 students
- Gilbert High SchoolHigh · 2,418 students
- Perry High SchoolHigh · 2,373 students
- American Leadership Academy Gilbert North K-12Combined · 2,357 students
- Williams Field High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Higley High SchoolHigh · 2,005 students
Nearby schools
- Elona P. Cooley Early Child Development Center0.1 mi · 76
- Learning Foundation and Performing Arts Warner0.3 mi · 285
- Learning Foundation and Performing Arts Gilbert0.3 mi · 259
- American Leadership Academy Gilbert North K-121.0 mi · 2,357
- San Tan Charter School1.3 mi · 914
- Williams Field High School1.5 mi · 2,150
Frequently asked questions
About Cooley Middle SchoolHow large is Cooley Middle School?
Cooley Middle School enrolls approximately 795 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Cooley Middle School serve?
Cooley Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Cooley Middle School?
Approximately 15.3:1 students per teacher at Cooley Middle School.
How diverse is Cooley Middle School?
Cooley Middle School reports a student body of 53% White, 26% Hispanic, 8% Black, 4% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Cooley Middle School in?
Cooley Middle School is part of Higley Unified School District (4248).
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.