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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Arizona do not yet include the AzSCI Science tests, which have not yet been released by the Arizona Department of Education

Palo Verde Middle School

Q: Is Palo Verde Middle School a good school?

Palo Verde Middle School ranks in the bottom 11.4% of Arizona middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Palo Verde Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 797 students attended Palo Verde Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Palo Verde Middle School?

Students at Palo Verde Middle School are 65% Hispanic, 15% African American, 10% White, 6% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% American Indian.

Public Grades 7-8

475^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 536 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 11% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Palo Verde Middle School is a public school in Phoenix serving 797 students in grades 7–8 in the Washington Elementary School District. Its achievement results are below district and state levels, and 8th-grade math is the clearest concern: 14% of students were proficient, compared with 30% statewide and 23% in the district. Palo Verde’s 8th-grade math result was also below all nine nearby schools with reported scores, which ranged from 16% to 69%.

Across all grades, Palo Verde is below the state, district, and nearby-school averages in both tested subjects. ELA proficiency was 22%, compared with 30% in the district, 41% statewide, and an average of 32% at nearby schools; math was 15%, compared with 25% in the district, 33% statewide, and a nearby-school average of 23%. Science is the closest subject to the benchmarks in the latest results: 18% of 8th graders were proficient, versus 22% in the district and 30% statewide. Within Palo Verde, 7th graders also scored higher than 8th graders in ELA (25% versus 19%) and math (16% versus 14%), though both grades remain below state results. Nearby schools serve different grade spans, so all-grades averages are descriptive rather than exact like-for-like comparisons.

Palo Verde has had a low SchoolDigger standing in recent years: its statewide percentile went from 34 in 2016–17 to 11 in 2025–26, when it ranked 475th of 536 Arizona schools and received 1 star. The district is also ranked low by SchoolDigger, at the 20th percentile statewide, but that does not determine results at each school. Palo Verde’s 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 18.1, slightly below the nearby-school average of about 19.0; its reported free/reduced-lunch rate was 80% in 2022–23. SchoolDigger’s statewide measure of how well the school serves students with special education needs fell from the 47th percentile in 2020–21 to the 8th in 2022–23; its measure for Asian students fell from the 28th to the 1st percentile over the same years.

797

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,569

Per pupil spending ?

56.5%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

7502 N 39th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85051-6417

(602) 347-2500

District: Washington Elementary School District

Feeder schools for Palo Verde Middle School:

Elementary:	Alta Vista Elementary School
	Manzanita Elementary School
	Ocotillo School
	Roadrunner Elementary School
	More...
	Washington Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

65.0%

African American:

14.9%

White:

10.0%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Palo Verde Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 26th percentile in 2016 → 11th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (19% vs 37% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 15 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school19%

District avg27%

Arizona avg37%

475^th of 536

Arizona public middle schools ?

Bottom 11%▼ down 15 pts since 2016

From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 11% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Middle Schools in the Washington Elementary School District

214^th of 267Washington Elementary School 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2026	14.2	475 of 536	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.3	478 of 552	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	484 of 550	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	693 of 854	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.9	517 of 605	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.4	623 of 832	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.3	481 of 605	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.2	496 of 711	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2017	29.3	460 of 695	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2016	25.6	499 of 677	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.3	404 of 521	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	29.6	507 of 690	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	35.4	544 of 787	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2012	34.8	546 of 772	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	32.2	484 of 685	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	35.7	459 of 692	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	36.8	431 of 663	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	8.0	400 of 400	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	31.9	404 of 573	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.6	115 of 125	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	6.7	245 of 247	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.2	191 of 192	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	35.7	290 of 404	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	0.9	31 of 31	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.2	41 of 42	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	44.0	188 of 606	69.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2026	6.7	359 of 370	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.1	374 of 395	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.9	370 of 386	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	704 of 806	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.6	458 of 494	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	622 of 820	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	389 of 466	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.0	393 of 624	37.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2026	18.4	275 of 338	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.8	282 of 345	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.2	272 of 329	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.6	569 of 760	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.5	314 of 392	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.2	526 of 802	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.5	275 of 387	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.1	338 of 543	37.8%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	43.1	109 of 257	57.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2026	17.9	278 of 328	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.9	293 of 344	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	290 of 320	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	23.9	564 of 717	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.5	332 of 369	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.2	289 of 503	42.5%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2026	12.0	329 of 370	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	11.6	343 of 379	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	349 of 370	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	645 of 810	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.1	417 of 476	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.9	602 of 818	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.8	368 of 435	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.7	469 of 617	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	23.5	328 of 384	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.8	525 of 650	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	34.2	98 of 159	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.3	274 of 390	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	17.9	335 of 363	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	41.0	415 of 789	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	15.7	177 of 178	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	6.4	671 of 675	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.5	667 of 780	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.9	328 of 337	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.1	380 of 436	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2021)69th percentile+44 vs school

Homeless (2021)58th percentile+32 vs school

Native American (2023)38th percentile+20 vs school

Hispanic (2026)19th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile+4 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)15th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)11th percentile~ school

Special Education (2023)8th percentile-11 vs school

Female (2026)3rd percentile-8 vs school

Asian (2023)1st percentile-18 vs school

White (2023)1st percentile-18 vs school

African American (2023)<1st percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts22%-19 vs state

Mathematics15%-18 vs state

1.0

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Schools Near Palo Verde Middle 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				AASA English Language Arts (2026)					AASA Mathematics (2026)					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	Directly certified (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	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 English Language Arts All Grades	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics All Grades	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
Palo Verde Middle School	Public	7-8	7502 N 39th Ave	Phoenix	85051	Maricopa County	Washington Elementary School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 347-2500	797	44	18.1	56.5%	80 (10.0%)	119 (14.9%)	518 (65.0%)	46 (5.8%)	14 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (2.5%)	14.2	475^th of 536 public middle schools	11.4%		15.3	478^th of 552 public middle schools	13.4%	3			25.0	19.0	22.0			16.0	14.0	15.0	$7,569	$743	$125	$1,611	$5,717	$984	$6,701
Imagine Cortez Park Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	3535 W Dunlap Ave	Phoenix	85051	Maricopa County	Cortez Park Charter Middle School Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 589-9840	252	12	21.0	68.7%	13 (5.2%)	36 (14.3%)	134 (53.2%)	66 (26.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	18	432^nd of 536 public middle schools	19.4%		13.4	495^th of 552 public middle schools	10.3%	63		20.0	15.0	34.0	23.0				22.0	12.0		$00			$00
Sevilla Elementary School-West Campus	Public	4-8	3851 W Missouri Ave	Phoenix	85019	Maricopa County	Alhambra Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 347-0232	666	34	19.5	67.4%	18 (2.7%)	58 (8.7%)	532 (79.9%)	35 (5.3%)	10 (1.5%)	3 (0.5%)	10 (1.5%)	14.4	471^st of 536 public middle schools	12.1%		20.6	411^th of 552 public middle schools	25.5%	60	12.0	21.0	25.0	21.0	20.0		22.0	13.0	16.0	15.0	$7,894	$1,382	$45	$2,808	$5,717	$750	$6,467
Royal Palm Middle School	Public	5-8	8520 N 19th Ave	Phoenix	85021	Maricopa County	Washington Elementary School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 347-3200	465	27	17.2	53.5%	54 (11.6%)	53 (11.4%)	304 (65.4%)	3 (0.6%)	31 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.3%)	32.4	313^th of 536 public middle schools	41.6%		31.7	319^th of 552 public middle schools	42.2%	6		37.0	32.0	39.0	37.0		25.0	24.0	29.0	26.0	$7,243	$1,692	$309	$3,694	$4,369	$872	$5,241
Choice Learning Academy	Public	4-8	5330 N 23rd Ave	Phoenix	85015	Maricopa County	Alhambra Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 246-0699	462	25	18.4	63.2%	23 (5.0%)	77 (16.7%)	320 (69.3%)	18 (3.9%)	14 (3.0%)	2 (0.4%)	8 (1.7%)								(n/a)	18.0			19.0	13.0	45.0			17.0	18.0	$9,315	$1,970	$290	$4,231	$6,140	$915	$7,055
Granada Elementary School-East Campus	Public	4-8	3022 W Campbell Ave	Phoenix	85017	Maricopa County	Alhambra Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 589-0110	683	35	19.5	64.7%	11 (1.6%)	62 (9.1%)	566 (82.9%)	23 (3.4%)	11 (1.6%)	2 (0.3%)	8 (1.2%)	10.1	506^th of 536 public middle schools	5.6%		15.1	480^th of 552 public middle schools	13.0%	26	16.0	19.0	13.0	19.0	16.0	18.0	9.0	12.0	17.0	15.0	$7,878	$1,347	$229	$2,923	$5,624	$678	$6,302
Cholla Middle School	Public	5-8	3120 W Cholla St	Phoenix	85029	Maricopa County	Washington Elementary School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 896-5400	681	38	17.8	51.2%	146 (21.4%)	76 (11.2%)	385 (56.5%)	23 (3.4%)	21 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (4.4%)	26.9	354^th of 536 public middle schools	34.0%		20.3	413^th of 552 public middle schools	25.2%	59			37.0	25.0	31.0			25.0	22.0	24.0	$7,511	$638	$159	$1,434	$5,468	$1,246	$6,714
Vista College Preparatory - Metro North Middle	Public, Charter	5-8	2133 W Peoria Ave	Phoenix	85003	Maricopa County	Vista College Preparatory Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(602) 612-3327	188	13	14.4	61.2%	20 (10.6%)	35 (18.6%)	124 (66.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.3%)	35.7	296^th of 536 public middle schools	44.8%					(n/a)	29.0		34.0	40.0	32.0				29.0	20.0
Imagine Camelback Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	5050 N. 19th Ave.	Phoenix	85015	Maricopa County	Imagine Camelback Middle Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(602) 344-4620	169	8	21.1	65.1%	3 (1.8%)	32 (18.9%)	122 (72.2%)	5 (3.0%)	5 (3.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)								(n/a)		27.0			17.0					10.0		$00			$00
Marc T. Atkinson Middle School & Gifted Academy	Public	6-8	4315 N Maryvale Pkwy	Phoenix	85031	Maricopa County	Cartwright Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(623) 691-1700	205	13	16.0	59.0%	10 (4.9%)	8 (3.9%)	181 (88.3%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.0%)	80.5	82^nd of 536 public middle schools	84.7%		71.5	124^th of 552 public middle schools	77.5%	42			70.0	68.0	69.0			34.0	69.0	49.0	$14,152	$3,715	$436	$7,865	$8,443	$1,559	$10,002

Frequently Asked Questions about Palo Verde Middle School

Is Palo Verde Middle School a good school?

Palo Verde Middle School ranks in the bottom 11.4% of Arizona middle schools.

How many students attend Palo Verde Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 797 students attended Palo Verde Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Palo Verde Middle School?

Students at Palo Verde Middle School are 65% Hispanic, 15% African American, 10% White, 6% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% American Indian.

What district is Palo Verde Middle School in?

Washington Elementary School District

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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.