Summary:
Imagine Desert West Middle is a public charter middle school in Phoenix, Arizona, serving 444 students in grades 6-8. The school has a predominantly Hispanic student population, with 87.84% of students identifying as Hispanic in the 2022-2023 school year.
Despite its high enrollment, Imagine Desert West Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Arizona middle schools in recent years, with a statewide ranking between 507 and 725 out of 533-854 middle schools. The school has received a 0 or 1 out of 5 star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating poor performance compared to other schools in the state. Its academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates on state assessments, is significantly below the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 19% of 6th and 7th graders were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 43% and 41%, respectively. In mathematics, the proficiency rates were even lower, with only 11% of 7th graders and 5% of 8th graders meeting or exceeding standards, compared to the state averages of 30% and 27%, respectively.
Imagine Desert West Middle has also experienced a concerning increase in dropout rates in recent years, rising from 0.0% in 2018-2019 to 3.5% in 2020-2021, which is significantly higher than the dropout rates of the nearby schools, ranging from 2.0% to 7.2%. Additionally, the school serves a high-poverty student population, with 92.79% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year, which is higher than the free/reduced-price lunch rates of the nearby schools, ranging from 56.75% to 83.85%. The school's spending per student has fluctuated, with $16,252 spent per student in 2019-2020 and $8,409 spent per student in 2018-2019, which is generally higher than the nearby schools, ranging from $6,594 to $14,529 per student.
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