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Cactus Canyon Junior High

Q: Is Cactus Canyon Junior High a good school?

Cactus Canyon Junior High ranks in the bottom 4.9% of Arizona middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Cactus Canyon Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 527 students attended Cactus Canyon Junior High.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Cactus Canyon Junior High?

Students at Cactus Canyon Junior High are 47% White, 43% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 2% African American.

Q: What high school do graduates of Cactus Canyon Junior High attend?

Students who attend Cactus Canyon Junior High usually go on to attend Apache Junction High School

Public Grades 6-8

525^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 552 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 5% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Cactus Canyon Junior High is a public middle school in Apache Junction, Arizona, serving 620 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Apache Junction Unified District, which is ranked 236 out of 289 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Cactus Canyon Junior High consistently ranks in the bottom half of Arizona middle schools, with academic performance significantly below the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 10-24% of Cactus Canyon students were proficient in English Language Arts and Mathematics, compared to the state averages of 29-42%. The school also has relatively high dropout rates, ranging from 3.7% to 6.1% over the past few years. Cactus Canyon's challenges are likely exacerbated by its high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 28.34% to 49.86% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Cooley Middle School and Franklin Junior High School, both of which are part of higher-performing districts, Cactus Canyon Junior High performs significantly worse. The nearby charter school, Imagine Superstition Middle, also outperforms Cactus Canyon Junior High in terms of academic proficiency and statewide ranking. To improve student outcomes, the school and district may need to implement targeted interventions, increase funding and resources, and explore strategies to better support the diverse needs of their student population.

527

Students ?

18.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$5,666

Per pupil spending ?

49.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

801 W Southern Ave
Apache Junction, AZ 85120-7416

(480) 677-7565

District: Apache Junction Unified District

Students who attend Cactus Canyon Junior High usually attend:

High:

Apache Junction High School

Feeder schools for Cactus Canyon Junior High:

Elementary:	Desert Vista Elementary School
	Four Peaks Elementary School
	Peralta Trail Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

46.7%

Hispanic:

42.7%

Two or more races:

4.2%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Cactus Canyon Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 37th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (15% vs 34% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school15%

District avg15%

Arizona avg34%

525^th of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 32 pts since 2015

From bottom 37% (2015) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

236^th of 289Apache Junction 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	10.9	525 of 552	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.7	493 of 550	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.1	617 of 854	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	498 of 605	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.2	583 of 832	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	21.9	465 of 605	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.0	416 of 711	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	30.3	452 of 695	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2016	38.1	380 of 677	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	31.3	330 of 521	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	48.1	340 of 690	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	56.5	333 of 787	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	64.6	252 of 772	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2011	62.9	231 of 685	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2010	43.6	396 of 692	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2009	50.0	324 of 663	51.1%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	22.3	551 of 573	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	29.6	322 of 404	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	55.5	69 of 606	88.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	5.9	388 of 395	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.3	367 of 386	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.3	598 of 806	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	437 of 494	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.1	586 of 820	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.1	370 of 466	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.5	357 of 624	42.8%	★★☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.5	95 of 166	42.8%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2024	13.5	303 of 329	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	26.6	553 of 760	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.4	344 of 392	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.7	694 of 802	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.1	332 of 387	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.6	402 of 543	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	332 of 344	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	294 of 320	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	30.0	496 of 717	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.4	316 of 369	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.7	319 of 503	36.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	9.4	356 of 379	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.5	341 of 370	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.1	609 of 810	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	409 of 476	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.3	556 of 818	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	15.1	375 of 435	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.1	405 of 617	34.4%	★★☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	29.8	21 of 29	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	46.5	212 of 384	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	38.9	381 of 650	41.4%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	75.7	29 of 159	81.8%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	16.2	343 of 363	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	42.0	399 of 789	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.8	156 of 178	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	1.1	276 of 277	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.7	283 of 288	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	636 of 675	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.0	435 of 446	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	28.4	605 of 780	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.5	332 of 337	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	382 of 436	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2021)89th percentile+59 vs school

Native American (2023)82nd percentile+54 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)45th percentile+17 vs school

Foster Care (2021)43rd percentile+13 vs school

Migrant (2021)28th percentile~ school

Asian (2021)20th percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2024)8th percentile~ school

Male (2025)6th percentile~ school

Special Education (2023)6th percentile-22 vs school

African American (2021)4th percentile-26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Female (2025)2nd percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)<1st percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts21%-20 vs state

Science14%-16 vs state

Mathematics11%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cactus Canyon Junior High

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 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th 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
Cactus Canyon Junior High	Public	6-8	801 W Southern Ave	Apache Junction	85120	Pinal County	Apache Junction Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 677-7565	527	28	18.5		246 (46.7%)	12 (2.3%)	225 (42.7%)	5 (0.9%)	16 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.2%)	10.9	525^th of 552 public middle schools	4.9%		13.7	493^rd of 550 public middle schools	10.4%	32		20.0	24.0	18.0		10.0	12.0	10.0		14.0	$5,666	$579	$24	$1,182	$4,999	$64	$5,063
Imagine Superstition Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	1843 W 16th Ave	Apache Junction	85120	Pinal County	Imagine Superstition Middle Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 355-0530	158	11	14.3		85 (53.8%)	3 (1.9%)	57 (36.1%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	10 (6.3%)	19.3	429^th of 552 public middle schools	22.3%					(n/a)			29.0	23.0				20.0				$00			$00
Desert Ridge Junior High	Public	7-8	10211 E Madero Ave	Mesa	85209	Maricopa County	Gilbert Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 635-2025	925	48	19.4		530 (57.3%)	34 (3.7%)	277 (29.9%)	18 (1.9%)	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	58 (6.3%)	60.5	178^th of 552 public middle schools	67.8%		59	194^th of 550 public middle schools	64.7%	16			58.0	50.0			46.0	34.0		33.0	$6,110	$02	$530	$533	$5,910		$5,578
Imagine East Mesa Middle	Public, Charter	7-8	9701 E Southern Ave	Mesa	85209	Maricopa County	Imagine Middle at East Mesa Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 355-6830	140	11	12.7		57 (40.7%)	11 (7.9%)	65 (46.4%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	5 (3.6%)	58.4	188^th of 552 public middle schools	65.9%		54.2	212^th of 550 public middle schools	61.5%	24			47.0	59.0			32.0	52.0		28.0		$00			$00
Smith Junior High School	Public	7-8	10100 E Adobe Rd	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-9900	707	42	16.8		270 (38.2%)	29 (4.1%)	367 (51.9%)	5 (0.7%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	29 (4.1%)	19.9	421^st of 552 public middle schools	23.7%		18.1	448^th of 550 public middle schools	18.5%	27			35.0	29.0			15.0	9.0		20.0	$7,326	$580	$22	$1,182	$6,370	$354	$6,725
Highland Junior High School	Public	6-8	6915 E Guadalupe Rd	Mesa	85212	Maricopa County	Gilbert Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 632-4739	961	52	18.4		602 (62.6%)	26 (2.7%)	229 (23.8%)	30 (3.1%)	13 (1.4%)	3 (0.3%)	58 (6.0%)	82.6	69^th of 552 public middle schools	87.5%		72.7	124^th of 550 public middle schools	77.5%	55			67.0	61.0			54.0	54.0		50.0	$5,857	$33	$532	$599	$5,509		$5,291
Fremont Junior High School	Public	7-8	1001 N Power Rd	Mesa	85205	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8300	822	46	17.9		397 (48.3%)	37 (4.5%)	309 (37.6%)	11 (1.3%)	23 (2.8%)	8 (1.0%)	37 (4.5%)	42	259^th of 552 public middle schools	53.1%		42.6	267^th of 550 public middle schools	51.5%	8			37.0	43.0			30.0	34.0		30.0	$6,870	$437	$21	$895	$6,024	$387	$6,412
ASU Preparatory Academy-Polytechnic Middle School	Public, Charter	5-8	6950 E Williams Field Rd	Mesa	85212	Maricopa County	ASU Preparatory Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 727-5700	328	33	9.9		144 (43.9%)	12 (3.7%)	122 (37.2%)	12 (3.7%)	4 (1.2%)	2 (0.6%)	32 (9.8%)	71.7	123^rd of 552 public middle schools	77.7%		63.6	158^th of 550 public middle schools	71.3%	35	59.0	74.0	59.0		47.0	45.0	35.0		55.0			$00			$00
Shepherd Junior High School	Public	4-8	1407 N Alta Mesa Dr	Mesa	85205	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-1800	581	28	20.6		361 (62.1%)	16 (2.8%)	162 (27.9%)	4 (0.7%)	9 (1.5%)	3 (0.5%)	26 (4.5%)	45.9	244^th of 552 public middle schools	55.8%		40.2	275^th of 550 public middle schools	50.0%	31			48.0	46.0			29.0	26.0		34.0	$8,537	$420	$61	$900	$7,489	$568	$8,057
Cooley Middle School	Public	6-8	1100 S Recker Rd	Gilbert	85296	Maricopa County	Higley Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 279-8300	795	52	15.3		418 (52.6%)	61 (7.7%)	210 (26.4%)	34 (4.3%)	5 (0.6%)	8 (1.0%)	59 (7.4%)	58.1	190^th of 552 public middle schools	65.6%		52.9	222^nd of 550 public middle schools	59.6%	32			47.0	52.0			38.0	41.0		36.0	$6,360	$203	$85	$491	$5,417	$654	$6,071

Frequently Asked Questions about Cactus Canyon Junior High

How many students attend Cactus Canyon Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 527 students attended Cactus Canyon Junior High.

What is the racial makeup of Cactus Canyon Junior High?

Students at Cactus Canyon Junior High are 47% White, 43% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 2% African American.

What district is Cactus Canyon Junior High in?

Apache Junction Unified District

What high school do graduates of Cactus Canyon Junior High attend?

Students who attend Cactus Canyon Junior High usually go on to attend Apache Junction High School

Is Cactus Canyon Junior High a good school?

Cactus Canyon Junior High ranks in the bottom 4.9% of Arizona middle schools.

Rate Cactus Canyon Junior High!

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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.