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What advice would you give to incoming students at Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,171
Middle
DISTRICT 934 · STATE 494
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHANDLER UNIFIED DISTRICT #80 (4242)·NCES 040187002478
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High
7655 S HIGLEY RD, QUEEN CREEK, AZ 85142 · (480) 224-2400 · Maricopa County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,171 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 99% 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.
- A+Three-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
19.9:1
59 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · 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 | 586 | 50% |
| Grade 8 | 585 | 50% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
66.0%
AZ avg 45.4% . +5.0pp since 2017
Math
59.0%
AZ avg 37.8% . -4.0pp since 2017
What this means: On the AASA, Arizona's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arizona schools, those numbers are about 45 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 5 points since 2017, while math scores are down about 4 points.
AASA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 66.0% | 59.0% |
| 2023-24 | 61.0% | 56.0% |
| 2022-23 | 60.0% | 52.0% |
| 2021-22 | 51.0% | 43.0% |
| 2020-21 | 54.0% | 46.0% |
| 2018-19 | 52.0% | 62.0% |
| 2017-18 | 61.0% | 63.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AASA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Arizona | In Maricopa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 59.0% | #6 of 190 ▲ 3 | #6 of 87 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #9 of 190 ▲ 1 | #7 of 87 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +15.5pp | #4 of 160 | #3 of 78 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,171 | #1 of 214 | #1 of 96 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.9:1 | #122 of 179 | #62 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.2% | #102 of 182 | #58 of 86 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.5% | #21 of 41 | #10 of 16 |
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
1,171
-49 (-4%) vs 2020
-3% since 2010-11, when it was 1,209
Student : Teacher
19.9:1
was 24.4:1
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 | 1,171 | 58.8 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 1,127 | 58.4 | 19.3:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 1,143 | 55.8 | 20.5:1 | 11% (125) |
| 2020-21 | 1,220 | 50 | 24.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,060 | 49.7 | 21.3:1 | 11% (116) |
| 2015-16 | 1,141 | 59 | 19.3:1 | 11% (131) |
| 2010-11 | 1,209 | 53 | 22.8:1 | 17% (208) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High.
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (1,060 to 1,171); teachers up 18% (49.7 to 58.8).
About Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High
Among the schools in QUEEN CREEK, Arizona, is Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High, a large middle school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 1,171 students in grades 7 through 8. Against the 494-student average for middle schools in Arizona, enrollment here is 137% higher.
Chandler Unified District #80 (4242) has a total of 48 schools and 41,421 students, Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High among them.
White students make up a majority at Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High, at 68%. The next largest groups are 19% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, 3% Black, and 3% Asian. In Maricopa County overall, about 59% of residents are White. The school's diversity index is 50%, meaning two students picked at random have a 50% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reports 58.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 19.9 students per teacher. That is 2.2 students per teacher above the 17.8:1 average for middle schools in Arizona.
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High is graded A+ by allk12, scoring above 99% of Arizona public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
In Maricopa County (population about 4,559,748), the median household income is $89,300, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High is one of 1,352 public schools in the county.
The nearest public school is Riggs Elementary, at about 1.0 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles.
The NCES locale for Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High is City: Large, which covers schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment declined 4% from its 2020-21 level of 1,220. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 24.4:1 in 2020-21 to 19.9:1 in 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 Chandler Unified District #80 (4242)
- Hamilton High SchoolHigh · 3,444 students
- Chandler High SchoolHigh · 3,179 students
- Basha High SchoolHigh · 2,826 students
- Dr. Camille Casteel High SchoolHigh · 2,816 students
- Perry High SchoolHigh · 2,373 students
- Arizona College Prep High SchoolHigh · 2,271 students
Other schools in QUEEN CREEK
- Dr. Camille Casteel High SchoolHigh · 2,816 students
- American Leadership Academy Queen Creek K-12Combined · 2,356 students
- Crismon High SchoolHigh · 2,009 students
- Queen Creek High SchoolHigh · 1,968 students
- Eduprize SchoolElementary · 1,733 students
- Heritage Academy GatewayCombined · 1,556 students
Nearby schools
- Riggs Elementary1.0 mi · 770
- Charlotte Patterson Elementary1.3 mi · 753
- American Leadership Academy Gilbert South K-62.0 mi · 396
- Chandler Traditional Academy-Freedom2.0 mi · 551
- Dr. Camille Casteel High School2.1 mi · 2,816
- Basha High School2.4 mi · 2,826
Frequently asked questions
About Willie & Coy Payne Jr. HighHow many students attend Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High?
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High enrolls approximately 1,171 students in grades 07-08.
Is Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High have?
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High employs 59 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.9:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High?
At Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High, the student body is approximately 68% White, 19% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High?
Willie & Coy Payne Jr. High is overseen by Chandler Unified District #80 (4242) in Maricopa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.