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L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Public Grades K-8
251st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 900 Arizona Elementary Schools
Better than 72% of Arizona elementary schools
Summary

L. Thomas Heck Middle School is a K–8 school in Litchfield Park serving 471 students in an area with several nearby elementary schools. Its latest all-grade results show a clear strength in English language arts (ELA), but the overall figures hide a sharp contrast between strong results in grades 3 and 5 and weaker performance in grade 4. The most important finding for parents is that grade 4—especially math—is the school’s clearest academic concern.

Heck’s ELA results are stronger than those of nearby schools and the state: 51% of students were proficient, compared with 49% in the Litchfield Elementary District and 41% statewide. That was the highest reported ELA rate among 10 nearby schools, whose average was 36%. In math, 40% were proficient—above the state’s 33% and the nearby-school average of 34%, but below the district’s 42%; Heck ranked fourth among those 10 schools. Grade-level results sharpen the contrast: grade 3 and grade 5 were among the strongest nearby results in both subjects, while grade 4 ELA was 4 points below the state and 9 below the district, and grade 4 math was 9 points below the state and 20 below the district.

Grade 8 science has improved from 18% proficiency in 2023–2024 to 31% in 2024–2025, up 13 points in the latest year and 1 point above the state, though still 9 below the district. Grade 5 science was 38%, close to the nearby-school average and 1 point below the district. SchoolDigger rates Heck at the 72nd statewide percentile and 4 stars for 2025–2026, the highest rating among nearby schools. Its statewide ratings for Male Students and Low Socio Economic Status Students are higher still, at the 87th and 88th percentiles, respectively. The student–teacher ratio fell from 19.3 to 12.7 between 2022–2023 and 2024–2025, the lowest reported among nearby schools; the school’s free/reduced-lunch rate was 48% in 2022–2023. These figures describe the school but do not show that the lower ratio caused its results.

471
Students ?
12.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$6,717
Per pupil spending ?
39.7%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
 12448 West Bethany Home Road
       Litchfield Park, AZ  85340

(623) 547-1700

District: Litchfield Elementary District


Students who attend L. Thomas Heck Middle School usually attend:

High:    Millennium High School

Feeder schools for L. Thomas Heck Middle School:

Elementary:    Barbara B. Robey Elementary School
    Dreaming Summit Elementary
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
48.8%
White:
27.0%
African American:
11.3%
more
 See top rated Arizona elementary schools

 Compare L. Thomas Heck Middle School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Arizona average (46% vs 37% meeting standards)
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Litchfield Elementary District
✓Above the Arizona median (72nd percentile)
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school46%
District avg45%
Arizona avg37%
Elementary school
251st of 900
Arizona public elementary schools ?
Top 28%
See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
209th of 536
Arizona public middle schools ?
Top 39%▼ down 19 pts since 2016
From top 20% (2016) to top 39% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 12Elementary Schools in the Litchfield Elementary District
108th of 267Litchfield Elementary 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)
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202651.5209 of 53661.0%★★★☆☆
202538.7278 of 55249.6%★★☆☆☆
202430.3339 of 55038.4%★★☆☆☆
202345.6372 of 85456.4%★★★☆☆
202233.1356 of 60541.2%★★☆☆☆
202153.0315 of 83262.1%★★★☆☆
201959.2220 of 60563.6%★★★☆☆
201865.0208 of 71170.7%★★★★☆
201767.8181 of 69574.0%★★★★☆
201676.4135 of 67780.1%★★★★☆
201562.2160 of 52169.3%★★★☆☆
201467.5208 of 69069.9%★★★☆☆
201370.2204 of 78774.1%★★★★☆
201269.4217 of 77271.9%★★★★☆
201162.1237 of 68565.4%★★★☆☆
201066.5214 of 69269.1%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202330.6281 of 40029.8%★☆☆☆☆
202154.5169 of 57370.5%★★★★☆
201945.14 of 955.6%★★★☆☆
201870.820 of 12584.0%★★★★☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202338.7159 of 24735.6%★★☆☆☆
202216.6186 of 1923.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202137.7275 of 40431.9%★★☆☆☆
201853.822 of 4247.6%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202145.7177 of 60670.8%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202647.3173 of 37053.2%★★★☆☆
202535.7228 of 39542.3%★★☆☆☆
202430.9241 of 38637.6%★★☆☆☆
202349.4321 of 80660.2%★★★☆☆
202227.7347 of 49429.8%★★☆☆☆
202156.0287 of 82065.0%★★★☆☆
201954.6192 of 46658.8%★★★☆☆
201870.4163 of 62473.9%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202535.1197 of 34542.9%★★☆☆☆
202427.3218 of 32933.7%★★☆☆☆
202342.9375 of 76050.7%★★★☆☆
202224.1299 of 39223.7%★☆☆☆☆
202149.9300 of 80262.6%★★★☆☆
201955.9137 of 38764.6%★★★☆☆
201862.4143 of 54373.7%★★★★☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202131.9231 of 25710.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202543.1159 of 34453.8%★★★☆☆
202437.9169 of 32047.2%★★☆☆☆
202337.3417 of 71741.8%★★☆☆☆
202243.4189 of 36948.8%★★☆☆☆
201864.5123 of 50375.5%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202525.2269 of 37929.0%★☆☆☆☆
202419.9291 of 37021.4%★☆☆☆☆
202338.5424 of 81047.7%★★☆☆☆
202225.2348 of 47626.9%★☆☆☆☆
202149.3323 of 81860.5%★★★☆☆
201948.4201 of 43553.8%★★★☆☆
201856.8215 of 61765.2%★★★☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202349.163 of 11042.7%★★☆☆☆
202228.763 of 687.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202155.744 of 14369.2%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202351.8183 of 38452.3%★★★☆☆
202238.2162 of 21123.2%★☆☆☆☆
202162.4181 of 65072.2%★★★★☆
201969.63 of 1478.6%★★★★☆
201859.820 of 4353.5%★★★☆☆

Native American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202372.535 of 15978.0%★★★★☆
202145.2160 of 39059.0%★★★☆☆

Pacific Islander

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202168.29 of 10891.7%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202319.1320 of 36311.8%★☆☆☆☆
202155.3178 of 78977.4%★★★★☆
201829.6127 of 17828.7%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202538.2181 of 27734.7%★★☆☆☆
202419.3236 of 28818.1%★☆☆☆☆
202337.9406 of 67539.9%★★☆☆☆
202233.2328 of 44626.5%★☆☆☆☆
202156.3296 of 78062.1%★★★☆☆
201948.4182 of 33746.0%★★☆☆☆
201858.3176 of 43659.6%★★★☆☆
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
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)88th percentile+16 vs school
Male (2026)87th percentile+15 vs school
Hispanic (2026)85th percentile+13 vs school
Female (2026)82nd percentile+9 vs school
Middle school
Pacific Islander (2021)92nd percentile+30 vs school
Native American (2023)78th percentile+22 vs school
English Language Learner (2021)71st percentile+9 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)54th percentile+4 vs school
Female (2026)53rd percentile-8 vs school
Multi-racial (2023)52nd percentile-4 vs school
Hispanic (2025)43rd percentile-7 vs school
Military Connected (2023)43rd percentile-14 vs school
Asian (2023)36th percentile-21 vs school
White (2025)35th percentile-15 vs school
African American (2023)30th percentile-27 vs school
Male (2025)29th percentile-21 vs school
Special Education (2023)12th percentile-45 vs school
Homeless (2021)10th percentile-52 vs school
By subject vs Arizona (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts51%+10 vs state
Mathematics40%+7 vs state

3.0
2 ratings · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Open Quote The teachers seem to do a good job and the classes are not crowded.
Are there issues such as bullying? Yes, but there are those issues everywhere-
The school offers band, art club, volleyball and chorus to name a few......
It is a fairly new school that provide security cameras.
I believe this school will become more desirable with time as the Glendale area continues to build in population. Coming from Goodyear I welcome the small class size and the open opportunities for my kids! Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Students who attend L. Thomas Heck Middle School usually go on to attend:

High : Millennium High School

L. Thomas Heck Middle School ranks 251st of 900 Arizona elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School are 49% Hispanic, 27% White, 11% African American, 6% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 1% American Indian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 471 students attended L. Thomas Heck Middle School.

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Latest Arizona data All new data »
2025–26 AASA test scoresNewOct 13, 2026
2024–25 dropout ratesDec 2, 2025
2024–25 graduation ratesNov 7, 2025
2024–25 AASA & AzSCI test scoresOct 10, 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.

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