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Safford K-8 School

Public Grades PK, KG-8

Summary

Safford K-8 School is a public elementary school located in Tucson, Arizona, serving grades PK-8 with a total enrollment of 362 students. The school is part of the Tucson Unified District, which is ranked 208 out of 289 districts in Arizona and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Safford K-8 School has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Arizona elementary schools over the past decade, with rankings ranging from 895 out of 955 schools in 2014-2015 to 1176 out of 1245 schools in 2022-2023. The school has maintained a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of this period, indicating very poor academic performance. Safford K-8 School's proficiency rates on state assessments (AASA and AzSCI) are significantly lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2022-2023, the school's 3rd-grade English Language Arts proficiency rate was 14%, compared to 30% for the district and 41% for the state.

However, the analysis of nearby schools reveals that several magnet schools, such as Carrillo Intermediate Magnet School and Roskruge Bilingual Magnet Middle School, significantly outperform Safford K-8 School on state assessments and have higher SchoolDigger rankings. For example, Carrillo Intermediate Magnet School ranked 128 out of 1245 Arizona elementary schools in 2022-2023, with proficiency rates well above the district and state averages.

318

Students ?

12.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

77.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

200 E 13th St
Tucson, AZ 85701-2140

(520) 225-3000

District: Tucson Unified District

Students who attend Safford K-8 School usually attend:

High:	Tucson Magnet High School
	University High School
Alternative:	Tucson Unified Virtual Academy

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

82.1%

African American:

8.2%

White:

5.3%

See top rated Arizona public schools

Compare Safford K-8 School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 12th percentile in 2012 → 6th in 2023

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (22% vs 37% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2012

!English Language Arts scores 18 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg23%

Arizona avg37%

474^th of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 9 pts since 2015

From bottom 5% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

208^th of 289Tucson Unified 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	12.4	1176 of 1245	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.3	1202 of 1226	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.9	1024 of 1039	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.3	1021 of 1109	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	11.9	1040 of 1106	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.3	1026 of 1079	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.9	895 of 955	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	16.5	969 of 1079	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	28.6	921 of 1158	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	22.2	1009 of 1141	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	12.2	1001 of 1075	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	12.8	1025 of 1090	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	27.4	827 of 1062	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	21.8	883 of 895	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	39.3	545 of 975	44.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	13.8	1134 of 1219	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.1	1187 of 1219	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.7	906 of 1023	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	18.8	1026 of 1170	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.1	707 of 716	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.9	1159 of 1198	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.1	836 of 911	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	31.7	351 of 423	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	17.6	1018 of 1116	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	14.2	1115 of 1216	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	804 of 830	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.8	1185 of 1220	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.0	970 of 1032	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	28.1	590 of 654	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	23.7	1053 of 1201	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.8	410 of 417	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	7.0	1121 of 1161	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	15.8	474 of 552	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	486 of 550	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	799 of 854	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.3	819 of 832	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.4	605 of 605	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.3	695 of 711	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	8.6	684 of 695	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.5	643 of 677	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.1	494 of 521	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	24.1	548 of 690	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	30.0	610 of 787	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	27.5	621 of 772	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	11.4	636 of 685	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	14.3	637 of 692	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	28.6	506 of 663	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	29.2	434 of 573	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	41.7	298 of 606	50.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	11.2	783 of 806	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.0	800 of 820	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	615 of 624	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	17.8	679 of 760	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.9	779 of 802	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.4	542 of 543	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	14.3	57 of 64	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2024	19.4	266 of 320	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	643 of 717	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	16.3	722 of 810	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	796 of 818	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	615 of 617	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	15.7	623 of 650	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	28.3	309 of 390	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	28.1	644 of 789	18.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	170 of 178	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	7.7	761 of 780	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)44th percentile+42 vs school

Homeless (2021)17th percentile+15 vs school

Special Education (2021)12th percentile+10 vs school

Hispanic (2023)12th percentile+7 vs school

Native American (2021)10th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)9th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2023)8th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2023)7th percentile~ school

White (2021)3rd percentile~ school

African American (2021)1st percentile~ school

Middle school

English Language Learner (2021)51st percentile+49 vs school

African American (2021)24th percentile+23 vs school

Native American (2021)21st percentile+19 vs school

Special Education (2021)18th percentile+17 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)17th percentile+5 vs school

Homeless (2023)11th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2023)11th percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2023)11th percentile+4 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)4th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2023)3rd percentile-4 vs school

White (2021)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts24%-18 vs state

Science19%-11 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Saturday, March 19, 2022

The administration of Safford speaks of equity. There is none. Students who do the same infractions do not receive the same consequences and this is known by all the students. A student walked into a classroom and shouted that he was going to beat the hell out of students in the class. The students he threatened were terrified. He was still on campus the following school day. Other students get in arguments and are suspended for multiple days.

Teachers are not treated equitably. Some teachers are forced to follow strict policies and procedures and disciplined if they fail to do so while other teachers are allowed to not follow those policies and procedures with no consequences whatsoever.

The administration of Safford speaks of students being safe and cared for. They are not safe. Students are jumped regularly in the hallways and beaten up severely. Several have gone to the hospital this year.

Students with IEPs in middle school grades do not receive their services at this school and those who seek to correct this issue are threatened in order to silence them.

The district leadership is aware of these issues and fully supports the administration.

I do not recommend sending your children to this school. Close Quote

Schools Near Safford K-8 School

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 English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th 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
Safford K-8 School	Public	PK, KG-8	200 E 13th St	Tucson	85701	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-3000	318	26	12.3		17 (5.3%)	26 (8.2%)	261 (82.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)								(n/a)					26.0	21.0						19.0		$00			$00
Carrillo Intermediate Magnet School	Public	PK, KG-5	440 S Main Ave	Tucson	85701	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-1200	305	19	15.8		48 (15.7%)	13 (4.3%)	221 (72.5%)	4 (1.3%)	12 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.3%)	86.5	103^rd of 909 public elementary schools	88.7%		82	148^th of 912 public elementary schools	83.8%	45	64.0	68.0	58.0				65.0	82.0	74.0		49.0			$00			$00
Roskruge Bilingual Magnet Middle School	Public	PK, KG-8	501 E 6th St	Tucson	85705	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-2900	563	40	13.9		49 (8.7%)	6 (1.1%)	491 (87.2%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	22.8	661^st of 909 public elementary schools	27.3%		19.9	699^th of 912 public elementary schools	23.4%	38			32.0	24.0	35.0	25.0	25.0	34.0	32.0	14.0		17.0		$00			$00
Drachman Primary Magnet School	Public	PK, KG-8	1085 S 10th Ave	Tucson	85701	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-1500	335	25	13.1		73 (21.8%)	19 (5.7%)	214 (63.9%)	3 (0.9%)	13 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.9%)	36.8	493^rd of 909 public elementary schools	45.8%					(n/a)		43.0	37.0						35.0		33.0			$00			$00
Mexicayotl Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	667 N 7th Ave	Tucson	85705	Pima County	Mexicayotl Academy Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 624-4018	41	3	13.6		3 (7.3%)	1 (2.4%)	34 (82.9%)	2 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.4%)								(n/a)													$17,850	$1,778	$127	$3,684	$12,333	$3,611	$15,945
Highland Free School	Public, Charter	K-6	510 S Highland Ave	Tucson	85719	Pima County	Highland Free School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 623-0104	31	3	10.3		11 (35.5%)	4 (12.9%)	12 (38.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (12.9%)								(n/a)														$00			$00
Borton Primary Magnet School	Public	PK, KG-5	700 E 22nd St	Tucson	85713	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-1000	268	30	8.8		59 (22.0%)	9 (3.4%)	180 (67.2%)	3 (1.1%)	14 (5.2%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.7%)	34.1	522^nd of 909 public elementary schools	42.6%		46.8	428^th of 912 public elementary schools	53.1%	94		25.0	39.0						37.0		37.0			$00			$00
Miles-Exploratory Learning Center	Public	PK, KG-8	1400 E Broadway Blvd	Tucson	85719	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 225-2200	285	30	9.4		72 (25.3%)	7 (2.5%)	175 (61.4%)	5 (1.8%)	9 (3.2%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (5.6%)	72.4	229^th of 909 public elementary schools	74.8%		56.4	351^st of 912 public elementary schools	61.5%	122		67.0	44.0						59.0					$00			$00
Davis Bilingual Magnet School	Public	PK, KG-5	500 W Saint Marys Rd	Tucson	85701	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-1400	295	20	14.7		62 (21.0%)	10 (3.4%)	205 (69.5%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.4%)	46.8	414^th of 909 public elementary schools	54.5%		40.5	473^rd of 912 public elementary schools	48.1%	59	39.0	48.0	45.0				49.0	32.0	39.0		40.0			$00			$00
Ochoa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	101 W 25th St	Tucson	85713	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 225-2400	187	14	13.4		3 (1.6%)	2 (1.1%)	173 (92.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)			50.0						64.0					$00			$00

Frequently Asked Questions about Safford K-8 School

What schools do graduates of Safford K-8 School attend?

Students who attend Safford K-8 School usually go on to attend:

High : Tucson Magnet High School
High : University High School
Alternative : Tucson Unified Virtual Academy

What district is Safford K-8 School in?

Tucson Unified District

How many students attend Safford K-8 School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 318 students attended Safford K-8 School.

What is the racial makeup of Safford K-8 School?

Students at Safford K-8 School are 82% Hispanic, 8% African American, 5% White, 4% American Indian.

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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.