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Best Public Schools in Santa Cruz County, AZ

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Arizona rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Arizona do not yet include the AzSCI Science tests, which have not yet been released by the Arizona Department of Education

At a glance

Schools

10,034

Students

Districts

Top rankedFrancisco Vasquez De Coronado Elementary School332^nd of 900 Arizona elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Challenger Elementary School up 89 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Elgin Elementary School 7.1 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

A J Mitchell Elementary School

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

9 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Arizona schools →

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				AASA English Language Arts (2026)								AASA Mathematics (2026)								Vaccination (2025-26)		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	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	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 English Language Arts 11th Grade	AASA English Language Arts All Grades	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 11th Grade	AASA Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	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
Mexicayotl Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	2059 N Grand Ave	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Mexicayotl Academy Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 624-4018	168	14	12.0	19.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	167 (99.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)								(n/a)		81.0			79.0			62.0	60.0							44.0	95.2%	0%	$14,147	$1,081	$2,342	$4,505	$7,465	$3,259	$10,724
Patagonia Montessori School	Public, Charter	K-8	500 N 3rd Ave	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Montessori Elementary School	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 394-9530	33			—	13 (39.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (60.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																				$00			$00
Montessori De Santa Cruz Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	2875 E Frontage Rd	Amado	85646	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Opportunities in Education Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 398-0536	81	8	10.1	—	25 (30.9%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)								(n/a)								42.0												$00			$00
A J Mitchell Elementary School	Public	K-5	855 N Bautista St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0840	301	18	16.7	60.5%	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	299 (99.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23.2	648^th of 900 public elementary schools	28.0%					(n/a)		38.0	23.0					25.0		34.0						16.0	96.8%	3.2%	$7,130	$450	$142	$1,043	$5,948	$589	$6,537
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	652 N Tyler Ave	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0870	421	24	17.5	59.9%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	419 (99.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.4	834^th of 900 public elementary schools	7.3%		12.2	843^rd of 909 public elementary schools	7.3%	9		19.0	23.0					17.0		18.0	33.0					21.0	100%	0%	$7,577	$432	$146	$1,010	$6,403	$596	$6,999
Mary L Welty Elementary School	Public	K-5	1050 W Cimarron St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0880	381	19	20.0	60.6%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	381 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16.7	757^th of 900 public elementary schools	15.9%		17.7	736^th of 909 public elementary schools	19.0%	21	22.0	34.0	23.0					26.0	29.0	26.0						22.0	95.7%	2.1%	$6,707	$383	$71	$838	$5,772	$481	$6,253
Nogales High School	Public	9-12	1905 N Apache Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2021	1,774	75	23.6	40.4%	2 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	1,757 (99.0%)	10 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	26.6	165^th of 256 public high schools	35.5%		25.9	193^rd of 271 public high schools	28.8%	28							32.0	32.0							20.0	20.0			$6,013	$324	$61	$709	$4,874	$754	$5,628
Wade Carpenter Middle School	Public	6-8	595 W Kino St	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0820	547	25	21.8	57.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	546 (99.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15	465^th of 536 public middle schools	13.2%		14	491^st of 552 public middle schools	11.1%	26				18.0	33.0	22.0		24.0				14.0	14.0	16.0		14.0			$5,882	$359	$44	$762	$4,962	$517	$5,479
Robert Bracker Elementary	Public	K-5	121 Camino Diez Mandamientos	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 397-7213	272	16	17.0	51.1%	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	269 (98.9%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50.6	383^rd of 900 public elementary schools	57.4%		56.4	340^th of 909 public elementary schools	62.6%	43	45.0	52.0	51.0					50.0	42.0	44.0	35.0					41.0	100%	0%	$7,928	$560	$80	$1,200	$6,714	$574	$7,288
Desert Shadows Middle School	Public	6-8	340 Blvd. del Rey David	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2646	784	34	23.0	44.9%	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	779 (99.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38.7	276^th of 536 public middle schools	48.5%		45.8	245^th of 552 public middle schools	55.6%	31				35.0	51.0	32.0		39.0				18.0	39.0	28.0		28.0			$6,426	$333	$34	$701	$5,522	$537	$6,059
Challenger Elementary School	Public	K-5	901 E Calle Mayer	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-0544	380	24	15.8	58.7%	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	379 (99.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21.2	680^th of 900 public elementary schools	24.4%		15.8	769^th of 909 public elementary schools	15.4%	89	26.0	40.0	22.0					30.0		28.0						20.0	95.7%	2.1%	$8,420	$612	$61	$1,285	$7,252	$495	$7,747
Francisco Vasquez De Coronado Elementary School	Public	K-5	2301 N Al Harrison Rd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 377-2885	508	26	19.5	41.3%	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	502 (98.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57.6	332^nd of 900 public elementary schools	63.1%		55.2	348^th of 909 public elementary schools	61.7%	16	43.0	53.0	44.0					47.0	46.0	57.0	49.0					50.0	92.9%	7.1%	$6,391	$505	$39	$1,049	$5,367	$480	$5,847
Pierson High School	Public	7-12	451 N. Arroyo Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0915	119	8	14.8	65.5%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	119 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																			$10,718	$2,156	$193	$4,506	$6,711	$1,658	$8,369
NUSD Online	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	451 N Arroyo Blvd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Nogales Unified District	No	(n/a)	Yes	Yes	(520) 287-0915	209	4	52.2	—	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	207 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																			$1,612	$00	$203	$203	$1,409		$1,409
Patagonia Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	Highway 82	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 394-3000	124	10	11.8	—	29 (23.4%)	0 (0.0%)	94 (75.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)								(n/a)								33.0								19.0			$15,561	$953	$930	$2,835	$7,013	$6,666	$13,679
Patagonia Union High School	Public	9-12	200 Naugle Avenue	Patagonia	85624	Santa Cruz County	Patagonia Union High School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 394-3000	71	10	7.4	42.3%	17 (23.9%)	1 (1.4%)	49 (69.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	3 (4.2%)								(n/a)																				$00			$00
Little Red Schoolhouse	Public	PK, KG-8	7 Duquesne Rd	Nogales	85621	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 287-0737	131	9	14.2	38.9%	3 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	127 (96.9%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)								30.0								37.0				$00			$00
Calabasas School	Public	PK, KG-8	1374 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8600	917	42	21.9	48.6%	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	907 (98.9%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.1	806^th of 900 public elementary schools	10.4%		13.1	823^rd of 909 public elementary schools	9.5%	17	23.0	37.0	21.0	18.0	40.0	17.0		27.0		19.0	20.0		21.0	12.0		16.0	93.9%	6.1%	$7,405	$644	$199	$1,487	$5,750	$812	$6,562
Mountain View School	Public	K-5	1374 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8401	406	21	19.0	58.4%	6 (1.5%)	2 (0.5%)	396 (97.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20	706^th of 900 public elementary schools	21.6%		22.1	673^rd of 909 public elementary schools	26.0%	33	32.0	36.0	23.0					30.0	34.0		18.0					23.0	98.5%	2.9%	$7,991	$796	$291	$1,883	$5,985	$919	$6,904
San Cayetano Elementary School	Public	K-5	1412 W Frontage Rd	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8300	395	19	20.4	46.8%	11 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	382 (96.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	19.7	710^th of 900 public elementary schools	21.1%		16	766^th of 909 public elementary schools	15.7%	56	25.0	34.0	39.0					33.0	19.0	19.0	29.0					23.0	98.8%	11.2%	$8,250	$509	$165	$1,184	$6,303	$1,272	$7,575
Rio Rico High School	Public	9-12	590 N. Camino Galindo	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8700	1,397	56	24.8	42.9%	29 (2.1%)	2 (0.1%)	1,356 (97.1%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	16.5	206^th of 256 public high schools	19.5%		18	224^th of 271 public high schools	17.3%	18							23.0	23.0							15.0	15.0			$5,911	$356	$138	$850	$4,494	$923	$5,417
Coatimundi Middle School	Public	6-8	490 Avenida Coatimundi	Rio Rico	85648	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz Valley Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 375-8300	497	22	23.1	47.3%	10 (2.0%)	2 (0.4%)	480 (96.6%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	27.3	348^th of 536 public middle schools	35.1%		23.9	385^th of 552 public middle schools	30.3%	37				33.0	41.0	33.0		36.0				33.0	13.0	13.0		19.0			$7,568	$388	$207	$983	$6,305	$668	$6,973
Elgin Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	23 Upper Elgin Rd	Elgin	85611	Santa Cruz County	Sonoita Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 455-5514	118	17	7.1	25.4%	78 (66.1%)	2 (1.7%)	36 (30.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)								(n/a)					70.0	85.0		69.0					60.0			47.0			$19,081	$2,057	$1,210	$5,325	$12,008	$3,806	$15,814

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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.