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Desert Sonora Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6
400th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 900 Arizona Elementary Schools
Better than 56% of Arizona elementary schools
Summary

Desert Sonora Elementary School serves 406 students in prekindergarten through grade 6 in Somerton, Arizona, as part of the Somerton Elementary District. Its clearest academic strength is math: 46% of students were proficient, tying for the best result among 10 nearby schools.

Overall, the school compares especially well with nearby schools: its 40% ELA proficiency was the group’s highest, and its 46% math result tied with Desert View Elementary for first. The other nearby schools averaged 30% in ELA and 27% in math. Compared with the state, Desert Sonora was just below average in ELA (40% versus 41%) but ahead in math (46% versus 33%); it also exceeded the district in both subjects (30% ELA and 21% math). The strongest results were in 5th-grade math, at 62%, and 4th-grade math, at 54%. The main concern is 6th-grade math: 26% were proficient, 4 points below the state and 36 points below the school’s 5th-grade result. Fourth-grade ELA was also a weak spot at 34%, compared with 47% statewide.

Results show a notable science improvement over time: 5th-grade proficiency rose from 23% in 2022–23 to 36% in 2023–24, then eased to 34% in 2024–25, matching the state and leading nearby schools with reported scores. SchoolDigger ranked Desert Sonora in the 56th percentile statewide in 2025–26 (400th of 900, with 3 stars), second among the 10 nearby schools; its percentile was 32 in 2015–16. Its 17.6 student-teacher ratio was below the nearby-school average of 21.4, while its free/reduced-lunch rate was 87% in 2022–23. SchoolDigger’s statewide effectiveness percentile for English learner students fell from 89 in 2017–18 to 35 in 2022–23, and for migrant students from 86 to 41, marking a sharp decline in its relative standing for both groups.

406
Students ?
17.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,341
Per pupil spending ?
68.0%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
 301 N. carlisle Avenue
       Somerton, AZ  85350

(928) 341-6300

District: Somerton Elementary District


Students who attend Desert Sonora Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Somerton Middle School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
97.3%
White:
2.2%
American Indian:
0.2%
more
 See top rated Arizona elementary schools

 Compare Desert Sonora Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 32nd percentile in 2016 → 56th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Arizona average (43% vs 37% meeting standards)
✓Ranking is trending up — up 24 percentile points since 2016
✓Above the Arizona median (56th percentile)
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school43%
District avg25%
Arizona avg37%
400th of 900
Arizona public elementary schools ?
Top 44%▲ up 23 pts since 2016
From bottom 32% (2016) to top 44% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 5Elementary Schools in the Somerton Elementary District
194th of 267Somerton 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)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202648.6400 of 90055.6%★★★☆☆
202548.4398 of 90956.2%★★★☆☆
202441.3471 of 91248.4%★★☆☆☆
202348.5570 of 124554.2%★★★☆☆
202239.2549 of 100045.1%★★☆☆☆
202131.4769 of 122637.3%★★☆☆☆
201931.9661 of 103936.4%★★☆☆☆
201842.6576 of 110948.1%★★☆☆☆
201739.3628 of 110643.2%★★☆☆☆
201629.7733 of 107932.1%★★☆☆☆
201516.6828 of 95513.3%★☆☆☆☆
201434.9710 of 107934.2%★★☆☆☆
201341.4717 of 115838.1%★★☆☆☆
201236.6798 of 114130.1%★★☆☆☆
201132.5757 of 107529.6%★☆☆☆☆
201031.7790 of 109027.5%★☆☆☆☆
200928.9804 of 106224.3%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202328.6291 of 45135.5%★★☆☆☆
202143.1393 of 97559.7%★★★☆☆
201866.017 of 15589.0%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202642.2328 of 57943.4%★★☆☆☆
202542.0323 of 58945.2%★★☆☆☆
202348.5544 of 121955.4%★★★☆☆
202248.7427 of 82448.2%★★☆☆☆
202136.0726 of 121940.4%★★☆☆☆
201936.9514 of 86240.4%★★☆☆☆
201841.4555 of 102345.7%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202658.9182 of 50063.6%★★★☆☆
202555.6195 of 49660.7%★★★☆☆
202449.1217 of 48655.3%★★★☆☆
202356.0438 of 117062.6%★★★☆☆
202245.5391 of 71645.4%★★☆☆☆
202137.7689 of 119842.5%★★☆☆☆
201939.0409 of 70942.3%★★☆☆☆
201853.0366 of 91159.8%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202662.9158 of 52970.1%★★★★☆
202557.7206 of 54962.5%★★★☆☆
202459.7175 of 55668.5%★★★☆☆
202378.4143 of 111687.2%★★★★☆
202252.5295 of 61852.3%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202653.4263 of 59155.5%★★★☆☆
202550.2290 of 62653.7%★★★☆☆
202451.8281 of 62855.3%★★★☆☆
202346.5576 of 121652.6%★★★☆☆
202233.4549 of 83033.9%★★☆☆☆
202128.9815 of 122033.2%★★☆☆☆
201935.7497 of 85041.5%★★☆☆☆
201847.7497 of 103251.8%★★★☆☆

Migrant

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202339.922 of 3740.5%★★☆☆☆
202145.921 of 6065.0%★★★☆☆
201882.51 of 785.7%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202349.6340 of 82058.5%★★★☆☆
202132.9821 of 120131.6%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202326.1803 of 102421.6%★☆☆☆☆
202237.5539 of 80032.6%★★☆☆☆
202152.6520 of 116155.2%★★★☆☆
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)
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)70th percentile+15 vs school
Hispanic (2026)64th percentile+8 vs school
Special Education (2023)59th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2026)55th percentile~ school
Female (2026)43rd percentile-12 vs school
Migrant (2023)41st percentile-14 vs school
English Language Learner (2023)35th percentile-19 vs school
White (2023)22nd percentile-33 vs school
By subject vs Arizona (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics46%+13 vs state
English Language Arts40%~ state avg

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Sonora Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 406 students attended Desert Sonora Elementary School.

Students who attend Desert Sonora Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Somerton Middle School

Students at Desert Sonora Elementary School are 97% Hispanic, 2% White.

Desert Sonora Elementary School ranks 400th of 900 Arizona elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Desert Sonora Elementary 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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