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Challenger Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

543^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 552 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 2% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Challenger Middle School is a public middle school located in Tucson, Arizona, serving grades 6-8 with a student population of 595. The school is part of the Sunnyside Unified District, which is ranked 267 out of 289 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Challenger Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Arizona middle schools over the past 10 years, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of that time period.

Academically, Challenger Middle School consistently performs well below the state and district averages in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 13% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in science, compared to 30% statewide. Similarly, only 6-7% of 7th and 8th-grade students were proficient or better in math, compared to 27% statewide. The school's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 10% of Arizona middle schools for Hispanic, low-socioeconomic, and English Language Learner students.

Additionally, Challenger Middle School has consistently higher dropout rates compared to the state average, ranging from 4.7% to 6.1% over the past few years, while the state average is typically around 3-4%. The school's spending per student has fluctuated over the years, ranging from $5,356 to $11,953 per student, which is generally lower than the state average. When comparing Challenger Middle School to nearby schools within the same Sunnyside Unified District, such as Billy Lane Lauffer Middle School and Gallego Intermediate Fine Arts Magnet School, Challenger consistently performs worse academically, with lower test scores and rankings.

590

Students ?

19.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$6,510

Per pupil spending ?

81.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

100 E Elvira Rd
Tucson, AZ 85756-6726

(520) 545-4600

District: Sunnyside Unified District

Students who attend Challenger Middle School usually attend:

High:

Desert View High School

Feeder schools for Challenger Middle School:

Elementary:	Elvira Elementary School
	Los Ninos Elementary School
	Santa Clara Elementary School
	Summit View Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.1%

American Indian:

5.4%

White:

3.6%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Challenger Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 3rd percentile in 2015 → 2nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (11% vs 33% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 26 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg15%

Arizona avg33%

543^rd of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4Middle Schools in the Sunnyside Unified District

267^th of 289Sunnyside 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	8.3	543 of 552	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.8	549 of 550	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.2	816 of 854	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	588 of 605	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.5	772 of 832	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.9	536 of 605	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.0	640 of 711	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	17.2	605 of 695	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.0	584 of 677	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	10.6	507 of 521	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	10.4	648 of 690	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	17.7	707 of 787	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.1	635 of 772	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	22.6	569 of 685	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	34.3	475 of 692	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	29.8	496 of 663	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	29.2	435 of 573	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	61.5	31 of 125	75.2%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	9.7	381 of 404	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	42.3	196 of 606	67.7%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	5.5	389 of 395	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.8	386 of 386	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.8	786 of 806	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.3	488 of 494	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.5	732 of 820	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.4	425 of 466	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.3	533 of 624	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	10.2	336 of 345	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.4	327 of 329	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	722 of 760	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	382 of 392	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.4	714 of 802	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.3	334 of 387	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	474 of 543	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.6	172 of 257	33.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	10.3	337 of 344	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.1	319 of 320	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	681 of 717	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	366 of 369	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.8	457 of 503	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	5.2	376 of 379	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	784 of 810	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.1	467 of 476	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	760 of 818	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.0	406 of 435	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.3	571 of 617	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	33.6	444 of 650	31.7%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	9.6	154 of 159	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	32.4	266 of 390	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	35.0	527 of 789	33.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	29.3	487 of 675	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.3	685 of 780	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2021)68th percentile+60 vs school

Special Education (2021)33rd percentile+26 vs school

Homeless (2021)33rd percentile+26 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)32nd percentile+24 vs school

White (2023)28th percentile+23 vs school

African American (2021)24th percentile+17 vs school

Asian (2021)6th percentile~ school

Native American (2023)3rd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Male (2025)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts16%-26 vs state

Science13%-17 vs state

Mathematics6%-20 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Challenger 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 4th Grade	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 4th 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
Challenger Middle School	Public	6-8	100 E Elvira Rd	Tucson	85756	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-4600	590	30	19.5		21 (3.6%)	21 (3.6%)	508 (86.1%)	2 (0.3%)	32 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	8.3	543^rd of 552 public middle schools	1.6%		6.8	549^th of 550 public middle schools	0.2%	6				13.0	18.0				6.0	7.0		13.0	$6,510	$574	$39	$1,187	$5,393	$504	$5,897
Apollo Middle School	Public	6-8	265 West Nebraska Street	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-4500	480	33	14.5		7 (1.5%)	6 (1.3%)	442 (92.1%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.0%)	7.8	547^th of 552 public middle schools	0.9%		9.6	529^th of 550 public middle schools	3.8%	18				17.0	17.0				6.0			9.0	$8,739	$942	$65	$1,950	$7,035	$697	$7,732
Gallego Intermediate Fine Arts Magnet School	Public	4-8	3700 E Alvord Rd	Tucson	85706	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-4700	768	36	21.3		15 (2.0%)	8 (1.0%)	729 (94.9%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.8%)	24	384^th of 552 public middle schools	30.4%		17.4	450^th of 550 public middle schools	18.2%	66	45.0	27.0	31.0	46.0	32.0	40.0	37.0	13.0	21.0	16.0	23.0	14.0	$6,089	$470	$14	$955	$5,212	$393	$5,605
Pistor Middle School	Public	6-8	5455 S Cardinal Ave	Tucson	85746	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 908-5400	579	44	13.1		31 (5.4%)	9 (1.6%)	473 (81.7%)	5 (0.9%)	50 (8.6%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.6%)	5.5	551^st of 552 public middle schools	0.2%		6.6	550^th of 550 public middle schools	0.0%	1			11.0	12.0	13.0			7.0				9.0		$00			$00
Wakefield Middle School	Public	6-8	101 W 44th St	Tucson	85713	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-6280	295	21	13.9		29 (9.8%)	3 (1.0%)	243 (82.4%)	2 (0.7%)	14 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	57.7	194^th of 552 public middle schools	64.9%		42.9	265^th of 550 public middle schools	51.8%	71			57.0	50.0	53.0			42.0	18.0	36.0		46.0		$00			$00
Las Puertas Community School	Public, Charter	6-10	100 W 37th St	Tucson	85713	Pima County	StrengthBuilding Partners	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 546-9296	40	5	7.4		1 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (60.0%)	1 (2.5%)	14 (35.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)														$00			$00
Utterback Middle School	Public	6-8	3233 S Pinal Vis	Tucson	85713	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-3500	270	22	12.3		20 (7.4%)	24 (8.9%)	216 (80.0%)	5 (1.9%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)								(n/a)					17.0					12.0				$00			$00
Billy Lane Lauffer Middle School	Public	5-8	5385 E Littletown Rd	Tucson	85756	Pima County	Sunnyside Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 545-4900	435	22	19.4		26 (6.0%)	27 (6.2%)	358 (82.3%)	3 (0.7%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.4%)	15.7	475^th of 552 public middle schools	13.9%		10.1	522^nd of 550 public middle schools	5.1%	47			25.0	28.0	26.0					12.0		14.0	$7,924	$712	$56	$1,480	$6,594	$562	$7,156
Valencia Middle School	Public	6-8	4400 W Irvington Rd	Tucson	85746	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 908-4500	520	36	14.4		33 (6.3%)	19 (3.7%)	421 (81.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.7%)	11.7	518^th of 552 public middle schools	6.2%		8	542^nd of 550 public middle schools	1.5%	24			17.0	23.0	23.0				9.0	14.0		12.0		$00			$00
Anna Lawrence Intermediate School	Public	3-8	4850 W Jeffrey Rd	Tucson	85757	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 908-3900	215	20	10.8		10 (4.7%)	3 (1.4%)	100 (46.5%)	1 (0.5%)	95 (44.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.8%)								(n/a)											33.0			$00			$00

Frequently Asked Questions about Challenger Middle School

What district is Challenger Middle School in?

Sunnyside Unified District

Is Challenger Middle School a good school?

Challenger Middle School ranks in the bottom 1.6% of Arizona middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Challenger Middle School attend?

Students who attend Challenger Middle School usually go on to attend Desert View High School

What is the racial makeup of Challenger Middle School?

Students at Challenger Middle School are 86% Hispanic, 5% American Indian, 4% White, 4% African American, 1% Two or more races.

How many students attend Challenger Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 590 students attended Challenger Middle 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.