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Step Up School

Q: How many students attend Step Up School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 62 students attended Step Up School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Step Up School?

Students at Step Up School are 74% Hispanic, 21% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Public, Charter Grades K-8

Summary

Step Up School is a public charter elementary school located in Mesa, Arizona, serving grades K-8 with a total enrollment of 63 students. The school is operated by the Mesa Unified District, which is ranked 417 out of 540 districts in Arizona and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Compared to nearby schools, Step Up School has a significantly higher percentage of Hispanic students (74.6%) and a very high percentage of students (93.65%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage. Academically, Step Up School's performance is significantly lower than the state and nearby school averages, with the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and Mathematics ranging from 8% to 50%, compared to the state averages of 37% to 45%. The school also has had relatively high dropout rates, ranging from 0% to 3.2% over the past few years, which is higher than the typical elementary school.

When compared to the nearby schools, such as Gem Charter School, Eisenhower Center for Innovation, and SLAM Arizona Inc., Step Up School consistently ranks lower in the statewide SchoolDigger rankings, with a ranking between 952 and 1204 out of 1245 Arizona elementary schools in recent years. This suggests that the school is underperforming compared to its peers, despite spending significantly more per student ($15,695 to $17,745) than the nearby schools ($4,447 to $10,939 per student).

Students ?

8.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

93.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

44 E 5th St
Mesa, AZ 85201-5901

(480) 344-2600

District: STEP UP Schools Inc.

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

74.2%

African American:

21.0%

Two or more races:

3.2%

See top rated Arizona public schools

Compare Step Up School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2018 → 24th in 2023

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 20 percentile points since 2018

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (21% vs 41% meeting standards)

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

!Mathematics scores 28 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2022-2023) ?

This school21%

District avg21%

Arizona avg41%

Not ranked this year

Step Up School did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	22.5	952 of 1245	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.1	1204 of 1226	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.7	1068 of 1109	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	39.7	474 of 975	51.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	12.2	1173 of 1219	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	38.4	685 of 1170	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	13.6	1176 of 1198	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	34.7	724 of 1116	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	14.4	779 of 820	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	8.5	1214 of 1220	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	23.7	1053 of 1201	12.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	30.3	535 of 832	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	11.4	662 of 711	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	55.7	66 of 606	89.1%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	7.7	820 of 820	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	32.7	521 of 802	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	31.5	524 of 818	35.9%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	45.1	342 of 789	56.7%	★★★☆☆

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)

Elementary school

English Language Learner (2021)51st percentile+50 vs school

Hispanic (2023)41st percentile+18 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)35th percentile+12 vs school

Special Education (2021)12th percentile+11 vs school

Female (2021)4th percentile~ school

Male (2021)<1st percentile~ school

Middle school

English Language Learner (2021)89th percentile+53 vs school

Special Education (2021)57th percentile+21 vs school

Male (2021)36th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2021)35th percentile~ school

Female (2021)<1st percentile-36 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2022-2023) ?

English Language Arts25%-15 vs state

Mathematics12%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Step Up School

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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 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 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th 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
Step Up School	Public, Charter	K-8	44 E 5th St	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	STEP UP Schools Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 344-2600	62	7	8.8		0 (0.0%)	13 (21.0%)	46 (74.2%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.2%)								(n/a)											$00			$00
Eisenhower Center for Innovation	Public	PK, KG-6	848 N Mesa Dr	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-5200	489	29	16.8		39 (8.0%)	51 (10.4%)	338 (69.1%)	2 (0.4%)	17 (3.5%)	13 (2.7%)	29 (5.9%)	20.8	693^rd of 909 public elementary schools	23.8%		14.1	799^th of 912 public elementary schools	12.4%	106	22.0	27.0	24.0	30.0	22.0	44.0				$10,275	$1,148	$344	$2,640	$8,268	$515	$8,783
Heritage Academy Pinnacle	Public, Charter	K-8	32 S Center St	Mesa	85210	Maricopa County	Heritage Academy Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(623) 537-3535	124	8	15.5		74 (59.7%)	3 (2.4%)	32 (25.8%)	2 (1.6%)	2 (1.6%)	1 (0.8%)	10 (8.1%)								(n/a)		74.0
SLAM Arizona Inc.	Public, Charter	K-8	305 E Main Street	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	SLAM Arizona Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(702) 431-6260	59				3 (5.1%)	16 (27.1%)	39 (66.1%)	1 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Edison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	545 N Horne	Mesa	85203	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-5300	528	31	17.1		91 (17.2%)	12 (2.3%)	380 (72.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.6%)	21.3	687^th of 909 public elementary schools	24.4%		15.9	765^th of 912 public elementary schools	16.1%	78		39.0	17.0	40.0		25.0			19.0	$8,813	$855	$152	$1,863	$7,438	$367	$7,805
Concordia Charter School	Public, Charter	K-6	142 N Date	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	Concordia Charter School Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 461-0555	106	7	15.1		13 (12.3%)	6 (5.7%)	75 (70.8%)	1 (0.9%)	2 (1.9%)	1 (0.9%)	8 (7.5%)								(n/a)										$9,568	$00	$1,565	$1,565	$7,956	$47	$8,002
Franklin Accelerated Academy - Downtown Campus	Public	PK, KG-6	236 S Sirrine	Mesa	85210	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 472-5400	373	18	20.7		145 (38.9%)	13 (3.5%)	173 (46.4%)	6 (1.6%)	8 (2.1%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (7.0%)	82.4	136^th of 909 public elementary schools	85.0%		85.6	120^th of 912 public elementary schools	86.8%	16	58.0	71.0	74.0	56.0	58.0	70.0	76.0	48.0	48.0	$7,582	$29	$19	$76	$7,360	$174	$7,534
New Horizon School for the Performing Arts	Public, Charter	K-6	446 E Broadway Rd	Mesa	85204	Maricopa County	New Horizon School for the Performing Arts	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 655-7444	119	10	11.9		17 (14.3%)	7 (5.9%)	92 (77.3%)	1 (0.8%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$00			$00
Emerson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	415 N Westwood	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-4700	717	37	19.6		187 (26.1%)	46 (6.4%)	397 (55.4%)	2 (0.3%)	28 (3.9%)	17 (2.4%)	40 (5.6%)	15.2	782^nd of 909 public elementary schools	14.0%		11.3	853^rd of 912 public elementary schools	6.5%	71	19.0	34.0	23.0	25.0	26.0	30.0	14.0		21.0	$7,225	$625	$52	$1,302	$6,147	$402	$6,548
Kerr Center for Agriscience	Public	K-8	125 E McLellan Rd	Mesa	85201	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-5100	450	32	14.0		53 (11.8%)	22 (4.9%)	294 (65.3%)	2 (0.4%)	57 (12.7%)	4 (0.9%)	18 (4.0%)	20.9	691^st of 909 public elementary schools	24.0%		9.4	878^th of 912 public elementary schools	3.7%	187			35.0	25.0	22.0	27.0	34.0		22.0	$8,967	$642	$239	$1,522	$7,881	$206	$8,087

Frequently Asked Questions about Step Up School

How many students attend Step Up School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 62 students attended Step Up School.

What district is Step Up School in?

STEP UP Schools Inc.

What is the racial makeup of Step Up School?

Students at Step Up School are 74% Hispanic, 21% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

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Latest Arizona data All new data »

2024–25 dropout ratesDec 2, 2025

2024–25 graduation ratesNov 7, 2025

2024–25 AASA & AzSCI test scoresOct 10, 2025

2023–24 dropout ratesJun 30, 2025

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.