Middle Schools in Cartwright Elementary District

The four middle schools in Cartwright Elementary District serve grades 6–8, and their results show a sharp divide across the area. Across all four schools, average proficiency is 33% in ELA, 18% in math, and 20% in eighth-grade science, compared with state rates of 41%, 33%, and 30%. Those averages are lifted by one school: Marc T. Atkinson Middle School & Gifted Academy is above the state in all three measures, while the other three schools are below the state in each.

Atkinson is the clear standout: its ELA and math rates are 69% and 49%, versus next-best rates of 24% and 10%; its eighth-grade science rate is 39%, compared with the next-best 16%. It is also ranked 82nd of 536 Arizona schools by SchoolDigger and has four stars. The other three schools have zero stars and rank between 493rd and 519th. The lowest result depends on the subject: Desert Sands Academy of Mass Communication & Journalism is lowest in ELA (18%) and science (11%), while Raul H. Castro Middle School: Academy of Fine Arts is lowest in math (6%).

SchoolDigger percentile rankings generally improved between 2023–24 and 2025–26: Castro gained 4 points, Desert Sands gained 3, and Atkinson gained 5, while Estrella Middle School College and Career Prep declined by 1. The latest rankings remain widely separated: Atkinson is at the 85th percentile, compared with the other schools’ 3rd–8th percentiles. Atkinson also has the smallest enrollment, 205 students, and the lowest student–teacher ratio, 16.0; the other schools’ ratios range from 18.5 to 22.4, but their results do not follow a consistent ratio pattern. AASA proficiency is available for one year only, so ranking changes do not show test-score growth; free/reduced-lunch rates were not supplied.