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Sonoran Trails Middle School

Q: Is Sonoran Trails Middle School a good school?

Sonoran Trails Middle School ranks 207 th of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

207^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 552 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 62% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Sonoran Trails Middle School is a public middle school located in Phoenix, Arizona, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 639 students. The school is part of the Cave Creek Unified District, which is ranked 77 out of 289 districts in Arizona and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sonoran Trails Middle School has consistently ranked in the top 25% of Arizona middle schools over the past 10 years, with a ranking as high as 59th out of 677 schools in 2015-2016. The school has maintained a 4- or 5-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of this period, indicating strong academic performance. However, the school has shown varying performance across different student subgroups, performing particularly well for Native American and Pacific Islander students but struggling with lower rankings for Asian and White student groups. Sonoran Trails Middle School's test scores are generally above the state average, with the school outperforming the state in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency for most grade levels and years. The school's science proficiency rates are also higher than the state average.

When compared to nearby middle schools, Sonoran Trails Middle School generally outperforms schools in the Deer Valley Unified and Paradise Valley Unified districts, particularly in terms of test scores and statewide rankings. However, the school lags behind some of the higher-performing schools in the Scottsdale Unified District, such as Desert Canyon Middle School and Explorer Middle School. The school's gradual increase in dropout rate over the past few years is a concerning trend that the school and district should closely monitor and address.

615

Students ?

19.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$2,721

Per pupil spending ?

6.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5555 East Pinnacle Vista Drive
Phoenix, AZ 85054

(480) 272-8600

District: Cave Creek Unified District

Students who attend Sonoran Trails Middle School usually attend:

High:

Cactus Shadows High School

Feeder schools for Sonoran Trails Middle School:

Elementary:	Black Mountain Elementary School
	Desert Sun Academy
	Desert Willow Elementary School
	Horseshoe Trails Elementary School
	More...
	Lone Mountain Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

79.0%

Hispanic:

14.3%

Two or more races:

4.6%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Sonoran Trails Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 88th percentile in 2015 → 62nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Arizona average (41% vs 33% meeting standards)

✓Above the Arizona median (62nd percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 26 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school41%

District avg41%

Arizona avg33%

207^th of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Top 38%▼ down 25 pts since 2015

From top 12% (2015) to top 38% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

77^th of 289Cave Creek Unified District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	55.0	207 of 552	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	70.0	131 of 550	76.2%	★★★★☆
2023	79.3	132 of 854	84.5%	★★★★☆
2022	69.7	155 of 605	74.4%	★★★★☆
2021	81.4	126 of 832	84.9%	★★★★☆
2019	75.9	135 of 605	77.7%	★★★★☆
2018	86.0	80 of 711	88.7%	★★★★☆
2017	86.9	70 of 695	89.9%	★★★★★
2016	89.6	59 of 677	91.3%	★★★★★
2015	84.7	65 of 521	87.5%	★★★★☆
2014	88.7	58 of 690	91.6%	★★★★★
2013	66.7	230 of 787	70.8%	★★★★☆
2012	81.6	100 of 772	87.0%	★★★★☆
2011	85.0	79 of 685	88.5%	★★★★☆
2010	79.1	131 of 692	81.1%	★★★★☆
2009	82.6	98 of 663	85.2%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	69.3	80 of 400	80.0%	★★★★☆
2021	38.6	308 of 573	46.2%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	28.8	204 of 247	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	59.8	161 of 404	60.1%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	49.6	48 of 145	66.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	42.1	199 of 395	49.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.2	138 of 386	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	79.6	124 of 806	84.6%	★★★★☆
2022	69.3	111 of 494	77.5%	★★★★☆
2021	81.4	111 of 820	86.5%	★★★★☆
2019	73.4	105 of 466	77.5%	★★★★☆
2018	84.4	72 of 624	88.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	52.5	123 of 345	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.5	105 of 329	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	47.4	324 of 760	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	72.1	133 of 802	83.4%	★★★★☆
2019	59.1	120 of 387	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.0	148 of 543	72.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2018	65.4	119 of 503	76.3%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	45.9	187 of 379	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.9	101 of 370	72.7%	★★★★☆
2023	76.3	139 of 810	82.8%	★★★★☆
2022	63.5	148 of 476	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	78.9	133 of 818	83.7%	★★★★☆
2019	67.3	126 of 435	71.0%	★★★★☆
2018	81.9	95 of 617	84.6%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	46.4	79 of 143	44.8%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	52.5	178 of 384	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	75.5	84 of 650	87.1%	★★★★☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	72.2	14 of 49	71.4%	★★★★☆
2021	91.0	6 of 390	98.5%	★★★★★

Pacific Islander

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	60.3	5 of 16	68.8%	★★★★☆
2021	80.9	5 of 108	95.4%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	42.8	155 of 363	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.7	118 of 789	85.0%	★★★★☆
2019	46.0	3 of 5	40.0%	★★★★☆
2018	59.4	41 of 178	77.0%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	24.7	216 of 277	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	46.2	153 of 288	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	69.0	152 of 675	77.5%	★★★★☆
2022	49.9	228 of 446	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	69.9	184 of 780	76.4%	★★★★☆
2019	55.3	150 of 337	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	71.0	108 of 436	75.2%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2023)80th percentile-5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)76th percentile-12 vs school

Native American (2022)71st percentile-3 vs school

Pacific Islander (2022)69th percentile-6 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)67th percentile-18 vs school

Hispanic (2025)64th percentile~ school

Special Education (2023)57th percentile-27 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)54th percentile-31 vs school

Male (2025)51st percentile-12 vs school

Female (2025)50th percentile-13 vs school

Military Connected (2021)45th percentile-40 vs school

White (2025)22nd percentile-40 vs school

Asian (2023)17th percentile-67 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts46%+4 vs state

Science39%+9 vs state

Mathematics38%+11 vs state

2.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sonoran trails does not allocate funds properly or test students for learning disabilities efficiently. Teachers are not prepared to deal with the adolescent behavior of the children at this school and the choice to remove an elective and add 15 mins to each class time instead is unreasonable. Close Quote

Schools Near Sonoran Trails Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)			AASA Mathematics (2025)			AzSCI Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Sonoran Trails Middle School	Public	6-8	5555 East Pinnacle Vista Drive	Phoenix	85054	Maricopa County	Cave Creek Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 272-8600	615	32	19.4		486 (79.0%)	4 (0.7%)	88 (14.3%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	28 (4.6%)	55	207^th of 552 public middle schools	62.5%		70	131^st of 550 public middle schools	76.2%	76		47.0	44.0		40.0	36.0	39.0	$2,721	$60	$60	$181	$2,035	$566	$2,600
Explorer Middle School	Public	5-8	22401 N 40th St	Phoenix	85050	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-4200	607	31	19.5		473 (77.9%)	8 (1.3%)	78 (12.9%)	19 (3.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.4%)	81.6	74^th of 552 public middle schools	86.6%		81.9	76^th of 550 public middle schools	86.2%	2		65.0	57.0		60.0	59.0	45.0	$6,002	$187	$138	$512	$5,487	$190	$5,677
Mountain Trail Middle School	Public	5-8	2323 E Mountain Gate Pass	Phoenix	85024	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-4600	835	39	21.4		461 (55.2%)	14 (1.7%)	250 (29.9%)	58 (6.9%)	6 (0.7%)	5 (0.6%)	41 (4.9%)	77.6	94^th of 552 public middle schools	83.0%		65.8	151^st of 550 public middle schools	72.5%	57		66.0	59.0		50.0	47.0	47.0	$6,163	$525	$176	$1,226	$5,094	$367	$5,462
Sunrise Middle School	Public	5-8	4960 E Acoma Dr	Scottsdale	85254	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-6100	390	25	15.7		192 (49.2%)	16 (4.1%)	133 (34.1%)	22 (5.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.2%)	65.3	155^th of 552 public middle schools	71.9%		72.5	125^th of 550 public middle schools	77.3%	30		53.0	53.0		41.0	42.0	43.0	$9,127	$870	$218	$1,959	$7,702	$337	$8,039
Greenway Middle School	Public	5-8	3002 E Nisbet Rd	Phoenix	85032	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 449-2400	646	38	17.0		62 (9.6%)	52 (8.0%)	497 (76.9%)	7 (1.1%)	15 (2.3%)	2 (0.3%)	11 (1.7%)	12.6	507^th of 552 public middle schools	8.2%		11.4	515^th of 550 public middle schools	6.4%	8		21.0	21.0		13.0	15.0	12.0	$8,288	$510	$191	$1,210	$7,055	$533	$7,588
Desert Shadows Middle School	Public	5-8	5858 E Sweetwater Ave	Scottsdale	85254	Maricopa County	Paradise Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 449-6800	791	39	20.1		547 (69.2%)	14 (1.8%)	139 (17.6%)	26 (3.3%)	13 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (6.4%)	81	75^th of 552 public middle schools	86.4%		74.4	115^th of 550 public middle schools	79.1%	40		63.0	58.0		56.0	61.0	45.0	$6,111	$194	$100	$487	$5,382	$436	$5,818
Desert Canyon Middle School	Public	6-8	10203 E McDowell Mtn Ranch Rd	Scottsdale	85255	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-4600	423	28	15.1		296 (70.0%)	20 (4.7%)	51 (12.1%)	35 (8.3%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.8%)	89.6	44^th of 552 public middle schools	92.0%		80.4	85^th of 550 public middle schools	84.5%	41	63.0	69.0	67.0	63.0	68.0	62.0	59.0	$7,889	$356	$1,085	$1,798	$6,505		$6,447
Deer Valley Middle School	Public	7-8	21100 N 27th Ave	Phoenix	85027	Maricopa County	Deer Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(623) 445-3300	448	27	16.5		143 (31.9%)	26 (5.8%)	230 (51.3%)	4 (0.9%)	10 (2.2%)	4 (0.9%)	31 (6.9%)	19.7	422^nd of 552 public middle schools	23.6%		20.6	418^th of 550 public middle schools	24.0%	4		26.0	32.0		10.0	13.0	26.0	$5,650	$520	$19	$1,059	$4,683	$428	$5,111
Mountain Sky Middle School	Public	7-8	16225 N 7th Ave	Phoenix	85023	Maricopa County	Washington Elementary School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 896-6100	672	32	21.1		235 (35.0%)	58 (8.6%)	320 (47.6%)	10 (1.5%)	17 (2.5%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (4.5%)	36.6	293^rd of 552 public middle schools	46.9%		27.9	353^rd of 550 public middle schools	35.8%	60		42.0	38.0		24.0	26.0	30.0	$6,668	$408	$103	$919	$5,323	$834	$6,157
Cocopah Middle School	Public	6-8	6615 E Cholla St	Scottsdale	85254	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-4400	861	44	19.5		654 (76.0%)	29 (3.4%)	104 (12.1%)	46 (5.3%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	23 (2.7%)	92	37^th of 552 public middle schools	93.3%		92.2	38^th of 550 public middle schools	93.1%	1	72.0	71.0	67.0	74.0	69.0	69.0	54.0	$6,404	$81	$437	$599	$5,468	$418	$5,886

Frequently Asked Questions about Sonoran Trails Middle School

Is Sonoran Trails Middle School a good school?

Sonoran Trails Middle School ranks 207^th of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What district is Sonoran Trails Middle School in?

Cave Creek Unified District

What is the racial makeup of Sonoran Trails Middle School?

Students at Sonoran Trails Middle School are 79% White, 14% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races.

How many students attend Sonoran Trails Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 615 students attended Sonoran Trails Middle School.

What high school do graduates of Sonoran Trails Middle School attend?

Students who attend Sonoran Trails Middle School usually go on to attend Cactus Shadows High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.