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What's one thing Desert Ridge Jr. High gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
925
Middle
DISTRICT 914 · STATE 494
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GILBERT UNIFIED DISTRICT (4239)·NCES 040340002112
Desert Ridge Jr. High
10211 E MADERO AVE, MESA, AZ 85209 · (480) 635-2025 · Maricopa County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL925 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of Arizona public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Arizona public middle schools
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.9:1 · 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 | 467 | 50% |
| Grade 8 | 458 | 50% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
54.0%
AZ avg 45.4% . -1.0pp since 2017
Math
40.0%
AZ avg 37.8% . -3.0pp since 2017
What this means: On the AASA, Arizona's statewide test, about 54 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 1 points since 2017, while math scores are down about 3 points.
AASA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 54.0% | 40.0% |
| 2023-24 | 46.0% | 43.0% |
| 2022-23 | 48.0% | 41.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 34.0% |
| 2020-21 | 43.0% | 28.0% |
| 2018-19 | 51.0% | 40.0% |
| 2017-18 | 55.0% | 43.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AASA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Desert Ridge Jr. High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Arizona | In Maricopa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #38 of 190 ▼ 4 | #27 of 87 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #33 of 190 ▲ 16 | #22 of 87 ▲ 11 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.5pp | #14 of 160 | #9 of 78 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 925 | #13 of 214 | #9 of 96 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.4:1 | #103 of 179 | #47 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.6% | #70 of 182 | #41 of 86 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.0% | #46 of 139 | #25 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
925
+90 (+11%) vs 2020
-29% since 2010-11, when it was 1,307
Student : Teacher
19.4:1
was 16.4:1
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 | 925 | 47.6 | 19.4:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 950 | 49.4 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 973 | 47.8 | 20.4:1 | 26% (252) |
| 2020-21 | 835 | 51 | 16.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,234 | 55.1 | 22.4:1 | 28% (344) |
| 2015-16 | 1,305 | 58 | 22.5:1 | 1% (8) |
| 2010-11 | 1,307 | 59 | 22.1:1 | 33% (435) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Desert Ridge Jr. High.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (1,234 to 925); teachers down 14% (55.1 to 47.6).
About Desert Ridge Jr. High
Desert Ridge Jr. High, a large middle school, is located in MESA, Arizona. The school teaches grades 7 through 8 and enrolls 925 students. That is 87% bigger than the average of about 494 students for middle schools in Arizona.
Desert Ridge Jr. High is one of the 38 schools that make up Gilbert Unified District (4239) (31,560 students in total).
About 57% of the student body at Desert Ridge Jr. High is White. Smaller groups are 30% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 4% Black. Maricopa County residents are about 59% White, a similar share. A diversity index of 58% means there is a 58% chance two randomly chosen students at Desert Ridge Jr. High are from different groups.
Desert Ridge Jr. High has a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.4:1, with 47.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, middle schools in Arizona average 17.8:1.
Among Arizona public middle schools, Desert Ridge Jr. High outscored 91%, which works out to an A on the allk12 Grade.
In Maricopa County, median household income comes to about $89,300, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. The county's public schools total 1,352, with about 725,139 students.
About 0.3 miles separate Desert Ridge Jr. High from the closest public school, Desert Ridge High. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools.
Desert Ridge Jr. High has an NCES locale of City: Large.
In 2020-21, Desert Ridge Jr. High enrolled 835 students. By 2024-25, that number had grown to 925. The student-to-teacher ratio increased from 16.4:1 in 2020-21 to 19.4:1 in 2024-25.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on athletics, class schedules, and weather closures here. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 Gilbert Unified District (4239)
- Highland High SchoolHigh · 2,992 students
- Gilbert High SchoolHigh · 2,418 students
- Desert Ridge HighHigh · 2,103 students
- Campo Verde High SchoolHigh · 1,863 students
- Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 1,303 students
- Greenfield Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,160 students
Other schools in MESA
- Mountain View High SchoolHigh · 3,421 students
- Red Mountain High SchoolHigh · 3,379 students
- Mesa High SchoolHigh · 3,233 students
- Westwood High SchoolHigh · 3,135 students
- Dobson High SchoolHigh · 2,284 students
- Desert Ridge HighHigh · 2,103 students
Nearby schools
- Desert Ridge High0.3 mi · 2,103
- Legacy Traditional School - East Mesa0.8 mi · 1,066
- Augusta Ranch Elementary1.1 mi · 855
- Canyon Rim Elementary1.1 mi · 905
- Imagine East Mesa Elementary1.6 mi · 611
- Imagine East Mesa Middle1.6 mi · 140
Frequently asked questions
About Desert Ridge Jr. HighHow many students attend Desert Ridge Jr. High?
Desert Ridge Jr. High enrolls approximately 925 students in grades 07-08.
What grades does Desert Ridge Jr. High serve?
Desert Ridge Jr. High serves grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Ridge Jr. High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Desert Ridge Jr. High is approximately 19.4:1 (48 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Desert Ridge Jr. High?
At Desert Ridge Jr. High, the student body is approximately 57% White, 30% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Desert Ridge Jr. High?
Desert Ridge Jr. High is overseen by Gilbert Unified District (4239) in Maricopa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.