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Desert Sky Middle School

Q: Is Desert Sky Middle School a good school?

Desert Sky Middle School ranks 106 th of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

106^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 552 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 81% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Desert Sky Middle School is a public middle school located in Tucson, Arizona, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 761 students. The school is part of the Vail Unified District, which is ranked 61 out of 289 districts in Arizona and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Desert Sky Middle School consistently ranks among the top middle schools in Arizona, with rankings ranging from 35th to 146th out of hundreds of schools over the past 10 years. The school's performance on state assessments, such as AASA and AzSCI, is significantly higher than the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, 61% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 40% statewide. The school's performance is particularly strong in Mathematics, with 53% of 8th-grade students proficient or better, compared to 27% statewide.

Despite serving a relatively low-income population, with 23.82% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023, Desert Sky Middle School is able to maintain strong academic performance, particularly for its low-socioeconomic status students. When compared to other middle schools in the surrounding area, such as Magee Middle School and Alice Vail Middle School, which are part of the Tucson Unified District and generally have lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates, Desert Sky Middle School consistently outperforms its peers.

743

Students ?

20.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$5,733

Per pupil spending ?

23.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

9850 E Rankin Loop
Tucson, AZ 85747-5525

(520) 879-2700

District: Vail Unified District

Students who attend Desert Sky Middle School usually attend:

High:	Andrada Polytechnic High School
	Cienega High School
	Empire High School

Feeder schools for Desert Sky Middle School:

Elementary:	Cottonwood Elementary School
	Senita Valley Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

44.1%

White:

38.8%

Two or more races:

9.0%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Desert Sky Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 85th percentile in 2015 → 81st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Arizona average (53% vs 34% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 19% of Arizona middle schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school53%

District avg55%

Arizona avg34%

106^th of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Top 19%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From top 15% (2015) to top 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Middle Schools in the Vail Unified District

61^st of 289Vail 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	75.6	106 of 552	80.8%	★★★★☆
2024	78.8	91 of 550	83.5%	★★★★☆
2023	89.6	60 of 854	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	78.7	93 of 605	84.6%	★★★★☆
2021	78.7	146 of 832	82.5%	★★★★☆
2019	89.6	46 of 605	92.4%	★★★★★
2018	92.7	35 of 711	95.1%	★★★★★
2017	91.5	42 of 695	94.0%	★★★★★
2016	92.0	42 of 677	93.8%	★★★★★
2015	83.3	76 of 521	85.4%	★★★★☆
2014	92.1	27 of 690	96.1%	★★★★★
2013	86.7	51 of 787	93.5%	★★★★★
2012	87.2	48 of 772	93.8%	★★★★★
2011	89.0	44 of 685	93.6%	★★★★★
2010	87.8	53 of 692	92.3%	★★★★★
2009	90.0	32 of 663	95.2%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	53.0	151 of 400	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.7	97 of 129	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	61.8	112 of 573	80.5%	★★★★☆
2018	91.4	5 of 125	96.0%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	76.8	44 of 247	82.2%	★★★★☆
2021	68.2	104 of 404	74.3%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	73.2	26 of 145	82.1%	★★★★☆
2021	41.7	298 of 606	50.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	69.3	84 of 395	78.7%	★★★★☆
2024	76.3	62 of 386	83.9%	★★★★☆
2023	90.9	44 of 806	94.5%	★★★★★
2022	72.3	97 of 494	80.4%	★★★★☆
2021	79.5	125 of 820	84.8%	★★★★☆
2019	90.8	26 of 466	94.4%	★★★★★
2018	94.6	20 of 624	96.8%	★★★★★

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	49.7	48 of 166	71.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	67.3	83 of 345	75.9%	★★★★☆
2024	77.4	49 of 329	85.1%	★★★★☆
2023	88.4	40 of 760	94.7%	★★★★★
2022	71.0	86 of 392	78.1%	★★★★☆
2021	73.6	123 of 802	84.7%	★★★★☆
2019	93.4	21 of 387	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	97.3	5 of 543	99.1%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	76.7	50 of 344	85.5%	★★★★☆
2024	78.6	42 of 320	86.9%	★★★★☆
2023	87.7	39 of 717	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	63.8	103 of 369	72.1%	★★★★☆
2018	96.6	10 of 503	98.0%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	62.1	112 of 379	70.4%	★★★★☆
2024	64.4	102 of 370	72.4%	★★★★☆
2023	85.2	79 of 810	90.2%	★★★★★
2022	72.6	90 of 476	81.1%	★★★★☆
2021	74.8	164 of 818	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	78.8	71 of 435	83.7%	★★★★☆
2018	89.0	54 of 617	91.2%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2024	64.8	1 of 2	50.0%	★★★★★
2023	84.3	6 of 110	94.5%	★★★★★
2022	77.5	8 of 68	88.2%	★★★★☆
2021	57.6	43 of 143	69.9%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	73.1	54 of 384	85.9%	★★★★☆
2021	60.3	189 of 650	70.9%	★★★★☆
2018	78.6	9 of 43	79.1%	★★★★☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	64.1	45 of 390	88.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	37.6	186 of 363	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	59.6	129 of 789	83.7%	★★★★☆
2018	95.9	3 of 178	98.3%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	74.4	49 of 277	82.3%	★★★★☆
2024	74.3	50 of 288	82.6%	★★★★☆
2023	88.6	39 of 675	94.2%	★★★★★
2022	75.8	53 of 446	88.1%	★★★★☆
2021	76.7	115 of 780	85.3%	★★★★☆
2019	79.3	45 of 337	86.6%	★★★★☆
2018	86.2	34 of 436	92.2%	★★★★★

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)

Native American (2021)88th percentile+6 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)86th percentile-7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)85th percentile+5 vs school

White (2025)82nd percentile~ school

Asian (2023)82nd percentile-11 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)82nd percentile-11 vs school

Female (2025)79th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)76th percentile-5 vs school

Foster Care (2021)71st percentile-11 vs school

Male (2025)70th percentile-10 vs school

African American (2023)62nd percentile-31 vs school

Military Connected (2024)50th percentile-33 vs school

Special Education (2023)49th percentile-44 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts61%+20 vs state

Science49%+19 vs state

Mathematics47%+19 vs state

2.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★0

4★0

3★1

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, March 3, 2010

While they do have the right intentions of excelling, they are failing to provide realism and teach how to be diverse. This is a grave mistake and it needs to be addressed. One of the rules cleary is in violation of the freedom of speech and its discriminatory in nature. Unallowing 'Un-Natural' hair coloring is one way of setting a bad example. Using the excuse that it causes a distraction is opinionated and no evidence to come to their conclusion exists. Children and obviously adults of today need to learn that appearances are not what makes a person.

I still give an average score, but the school can definitely get better if they step back and look at things outside of their paradigm. Close Quote

Schools Near Desert Sky 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
Desert Sky Middle School	Public	6-8	9850 E Rankin Loop	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-2700	743	37	20.3		288 (38.8%)	32 (4.3%)	328 (44.1%)	16 (2.2%)	7 (0.9%)	5 (0.7%)	67 (9.0%)	75.6	106^th of 552 public middle schools	80.8%		78.8	91^st of 550 public middle schools	83.5%	15			58.0	65.0	61.0			47.0	40.0	53.0		49.0	$5,733	$76	$232	$383	$5,282	$144	$5,425
Rincon Vista Middle School	Public	6-8	10770 E Bilby Rd	Tucson	85747	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-3200	712	35	20.5		291 (40.9%)	43 (6.0%)	291 (40.9%)	21 (2.9%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	61 (8.6%)	71.4	126^th of 552 public middle schools	77.2%		77.1	105^th of 550 public middle schools	80.9%	21			55.0	67.0	54.0			42.0	46.0	42.0		50.0	$5,380	$50	$06	$105	$5,141	$184	$5,324
Secrist Middle School	Public	6-8	3400 S Houghton Rd	Tucson	85730	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-5300	248	20	12.5		71 (28.6%)	26 (10.5%)	121 (48.8%)	8 (3.2%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (7.7%)								(n/a)				29.0	30.0									$00			$00
Old Vail Middle School	Public	6-8	13299 E Colossal Cave Rd	Vail	85641	Pima County	Vail Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 879-2400	811	40	20.3		419 (51.7%)	26 (3.2%)	277 (34.2%)	6 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	78 (9.6%)	68.6	141^st of 552 public middle schools	74.5%		74.2	116^th of 550 public middle schools	78.9%	25			56.0	58.0	54.0			49.0	35.0	42.0		49.0	$5,515	$70	$123	$262	$5,068	$255	$5,323
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
Gridley Middle School	Public	6-8	350 S Harrison Rd	Tucson	85748	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-4600	501	34	14.5		191 (38.1%)	42 (8.4%)	209 (41.7%)	11 (2.2%)	6 (1.2%)	7 (1.4%)	35 (7.0%)	25.8	369^th of 552 public middle schools	33.2%		22.1	400^th of 550 public middle schools	27.3%	31			32.0	36.0	34.0			26.0	20.0	19.0		20.0		$00			$00
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
Magee Middle School	Public	6-8	8300 E Speedway Blvd	Tucson	85710	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-5000	283	27	10.5		89 (31.4%)	31 (11.0%)	122 (43.1%)	10 (3.5%)	3 (1.1%)	7 (2.5%)	21 (7.4%)	16.4	465^th of 552 public middle schools	15.8%		12.8	501^st of 550 public middle schools	8.9%	36			29.0	23.0	25.0				13.0			18.0		$00			$00
Alice Vail Middle School	Public	6-8	5350 E 16th St	Tucson	85711	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 584-5400	573	40	14.5		155 (27.1%)	64 (11.2%)	286 (49.9%)	12 (2.1%)	12 (2.1%)	10 (1.7%)	34 (5.9%)	29.2	341^st of 552 public middle schools	38.2%		25.6	369^th of 550 public middle schools	32.9%	28			35.0	40.0	35.0			26.0	25.0	16.0		23.0		$00			$00
Future Investment Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	1854 S Alvernon Way	Tucson	85711	Pima County	Griffin Foundation Inc. The	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 790-8400	32	5	6.4		2 (6.3%)	2 (6.3%)	26 (81.3%)	1 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.1%)								(n/a)													$23,339	$2,150	$5,097	$9,398	$11,112	$4,979	$16,091

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Sky Middle School

What high school do graduates of Desert Sky Middle School attend?

Students who attend Desert Sky Middle School usually go on to attend Andrada Polytechnic High School

What district is Desert Sky Middle School in?

Vail Unified District

How many students attend Desert Sky Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 743 students attended Desert Sky Middle School.

Is Desert Sky Middle School a good school?

Desert Sky Middle School ranks 106^th of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Desert Sky Middle School?

Students at Desert Sky Middle School are 44% Hispanic, 39% White, 9% Two or more races, 4% African American, 2% Asian.

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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.