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Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 85142

At a glance

Schools

3,051

Students

Districts

5-star schools

Top rankedWillie & Coy Payne Junior High54^th of 552 Arizona middle schools

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Biggest riser

Newell Barney College Preparatory School up 149 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

The 85142 zip code area is home to 4 middle schools serving grades 6-8, with a mix of high-performing and average-performing institutions. Willie & Coy Payne Junior High and Newell Barney College Preparatory School stand out as the top-performing middle schools in the area, consistently ranking among the best in the state. In contrast, Sossaman Middle School and Queen Creek Junior High School demonstrate more average academic performance.

Willie & Coy Payne Junior High stands out for its consistently high performance, ranking in the top 100 middle schools in Arizona for the past 3 years. The school boasts strong test scores, exceeding district and state averages in English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as an impressive 57% 8th grade science proficiency rate, well above the state average of 30%. Newell Barney College Preparatory School also demonstrates exceptional performance, ranking in the top 55 middle schools in Arizona for the 2024-2025 school year, with impressive proficiency rates in core subjects that significantly outperform the district and state averages.

The data reveals significant differences in academic performance among the schools, with Willie & Coy Payne Junior High and Newell Barney College Preparatory School consistently outperforming the other schools and the district/state averages. Additionally, Newell Barney College Preparatory School's low student-teacher ratio of 9.5 suggests a more personalized learning environment, which may be a contributing factor to its strong academic results.

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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 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th 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
Willie & Coy Payne Junior High	Public	7-8	7655 S Higley Rd	Queen Creek	85142	Maricopa County	Chandler Unified District #80	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 224-2400	1,171	59	19.9		791 (67.5%)	38 (3.2%)	220 (18.8%)	37 (3.2%)	11 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	73 (6.2%)	87.4	54^th of 552 public middle schools	90.2%		82.7	72^nd of 550 public middle schools	86.9%	18	70.0	61.0	62.0	57.0	57.0	$6,644	$426	$65	$918	$6,016	$136	$6,152
Sossaman Middle School	Public	7-8	18655 E Jacaranda Blvd	Queen Creek	85142	Maricopa County	Higley Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 279-8500	1,094	55	19.8		721 (65.9%)	35 (3.2%)	235 (21.5%)	31 (2.8%)	6 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	63 (5.8%)	83	67^th of 552 public middle schools	87.9%		77.8	103^rd of 550 public middle schools	81.3%	36	66.0	62.0	52.0	51.0	56.0	$6,310	$284	$67	$635	$5,238	$721	$5,959
Queen Creek Junior High School	Public	5-8	20435 S Old Ellsworth Rd	Queen Creek	85142	Maricopa County	Queen Creek Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 987-5940	657	33	19.6		407 (61.9%)	24 (3.7%)	170 (25.9%)	13 (2.0%)	5 (0.8%)	3 (0.5%)	35 (5.3%)	64.7	156^th of 552 public middle schools	71.7%		67.7	141^st of 550 public middle schools	74.4%	15	49.0	48.0	44.0	41.0	49.0	$8,274	$348	$01	$697	$6,470	$1,455	$7,925
Newell Barney College Preparatory School	Public	5-8	24937 S Sossaman Rd	Queen Creek	85142	Maricopa County	Queen Creek Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 474-6700	129	13	9.9		81 (62.8%)	3 (2.3%)	32 (24.8%)	4 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.0%)	87.3	55^th of 552 public middle schools	90.0%		57.1	204^th of 550 public middle schools	62.9%	149	90.0	63.0	70.0	48.0	54.0	$7,296	$279	$03	$561	$5,960	$1,054	$7,014

Cities Near Zip Code 85142

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Queen Creek	0.49 mi	42	20^th
Gilbert	2.8 mi	83	19^th
San Tan Valley	3.48 mi	23	66^th
Mesa	4.16 mi	169	47^th
Chandler	6.97 mi	77	24^th

See the top AZ Arizona cities

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.