L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Summary:

L. Thomas Heck Middle School is a public middle school located in Litchfield Park, Arizona, serving around 630 students in grades 5-8. The school is part of the Litchfield Elementary District, which is ranked 110 out of 288 districts in the state.

Academically, L. Thomas Heck Middle School faces some challenges. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are generally below the district and state averages across all grade levels. When compared to other middle schools in the Litchfield Elementary District, such as Western Sky Middle School and Wigwam Creek Middle School, L. Thomas Heck Middle School underperforms. The school's performance is also lower than some nearby charter schools, like Pensar Academy.

The school's diverse student population includes a majority Hispanic and significant White and African American populations, as well as smaller Asian and Native American populations. However, the school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with Native American and Pacific Islander students performing relatively well, but male students, Asian students, Hispanic students, and students with special needs performing significantly lower than the state average. This suggests the need for targeted interventions and support to address these achievement gaps. Additionally, the school's statewide ranking has declined over the past several years, indicating the need for a comprehensive review of the school's curriculum, instructional practices, and resource allocation to improve student outcomes.


Detail:

Public 5-8

 12448 West Bethany Home Road
       Litchfield Park, AZ  85340


(623) 547-1700

District: Litchfield Elementary District

SchoolDigger Rank:
310th of 533 Arizona Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $6,717 Help


Students who attend L. Thomas Heck Middle School usually attend:

High:    Millennium High School

Feeder schools for L. Thomas Heck Middle School:

Elementary:    Barbara B. Robey Elementary School
    Dreaming Summit Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  19.3 Help
Number of students:  630

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
52.1%
White:
25.6%
African American:
11.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  47.9% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details L. Thomas Heck Middle School ranks worse than 58.2% of middle schools in Arizona. It also ranks last among 4 ranked middle schools in the Litchfield Elementary District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 32.05. (See more...)
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
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Compare Details L. Thomas Heck Middle School has the smallest middle school student body size in the Litchfield Elementary District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (52.1%), White (25.6%), African American (11.7%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 47.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Litchfield Elementary District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at L. Thomas Heck Middle School is 19.3, which is the 2nd best among 4 middle schools in the Litchfield Elementary District. (See more...)
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Compare L. Thomas Heck Middle School employs 32.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at L. Thomas Heck Middle School is $6,717, which is the 2nd highest among 4 middle schools in the Litchfield Elementary District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

L. Thomas Heck Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks L. Thomas Heck Middle School 310th of 533 Arizona public middle schools. (See L. Thomas Heck Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Litchfield Elementary District:

SchoolDigger ranks Litchfield Elementary District 110th of 288 Arizona school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for L. Thomas Heck Middle School?

Rank History for L. Thomas Heck Middle School

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Rank History for all students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2010 66.53 214th 692 69.1%
2011 62.11 237th 685 65.4%
2012 69.44 217th 772 71.9%
2013 70.23 204th 787 74.1%
2014 67.45 208th 690 69.9%
2015 62.21 160th 521 69.3%
2016 76.35 135th 677 80.1%
2017 67.80 181st 695 74.0%
2018 64.98 208th 711 70.7%
2019 59.21 220th 605 63.6%
2021 52.99 315th 832 62.1%
2022 33.10 356th 605 41.2%
2023 45.60 372nd 854 56.4%
2024 32.05 310th 533 41.8%
See the entire list of Arizona Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 59.84 20th 43 53.5%
2019 69.56 3rd 14 78.6%
2021 62.40 181st 650 72.2%
2022 38.21 162nd 211 23.2%
2023 51.84 183rd 384 52.3%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 45.66 177th 606 70.8%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 29.61 127th 178 28.7%
2021 55.27 178th 789 77.4%
2023 19.13 320th 363 11.8%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 64.51 123rd 503 75.5%
2022 43.41 189th 369 48.8%
2023 37.31 417th 717 41.8%
2024 42.07 140th 314 55.4%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 31.94 231st 257 10.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 70.39 163rd 624 73.9%
2019 54.61 192nd 466 58.8%
2021 56.02 287th 820 65.0%
2022 27.70 347th 494 29.8%
2023 49.43 321st 806 60.2%
2024 30.88 240th 379 36.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 55.70 44th 143 69.2%
2022 28.72 63rd 68 7.4%
2023 49.09 63rd 110 42.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 56.83 215th 617 65.2%
2019 48.45 201st 435 53.8%
2021 49.29 323rd 818 60.5%
2022 25.25 348th 476 26.9%
2023 38.50 424th 810 47.7%
2024 19.81 280th 356 21.3%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 53.80 22nd 42 47.6%
2021 37.71 275th 404 31.9%
2022 16.61 186th 192 3.1%
2023 38.71 159th 247 35.6%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 70.85 20th 125 84.0%
2019 45.14 4th 9 55.6%
2021 54.46 169th 573 70.5%
2023 30.61 281st 400 29.8%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 62.40 143rd 543 73.7%
2019 55.89 137th 387 64.6%
2021 49.92 300th 802 62.6%
2022 24.12 299th 392 23.7%
2023 42.93 375th 760 50.7%
2024 28.62 198th 322 38.5%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 45.15 160th 390 59.0%
2023 72.51 35th 159 78.0%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for Pacific Islander students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 68.20 9th 108 91.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Pacific Islander Students!

Rank History for White students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 58.25 176th 436 59.6%
2019 48.40 182nd 337 46.0%
2021 56.33 296th 780 62.1%
2022 33.19 328th 446 26.5%
2023 37.93 406th 675 39.9%
2024 20.66 222nd 273 18.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Arizona Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

L. Thomas Heck Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Arizona Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)
50%

0%

0%

0%

50%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Open Quote The teachers seem to do a good job and the classes are not crowded.
Are there issues such as bullying? Yes, but there are those issues everywhere-
The school offers band, art club, volleyball and chorus to name a few......
It is a fairly new school that provide security cameras.
I believe this school will become more desirable with time as the Glendale area continues to build in population. Coming from Goodyear I welcome the small class size and the open opportunities for my kids! Close Quote



Enrollment information for L. Thomas Heck Middle School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2010 278 131 29 208 8 n/a n/a 0 654
2011 303 126 35 264 4 0 6 0 738
2012 310 107 42 263 7 4 13 0 746
2013 311 99 41 252 9 5 15 0 732
2014 320 101 31 265 8 6 15 0 746
2015 304 85 28 282 10 5 21 0 735
2016 272 97 33 286 9 4 28 0 729
2017 293 90 43 316 11 2 35 0 790
2018 311 90 40 335 11 0 40 0 827
2019 286 108 40 322 8 0 46 0 810
2020 239 100 37 394 8 5 50 0 833
2021 214 88 32 380 10 4 40 0 768
2022 174 77 17 341 11 4 33 0 657
2023 161 74 21 328 7 3 36 0 630

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at L. Thomas Heck Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2010 654 38.5 16.9 50.6
2011 738 33.5 22.0 0.4
2012 746 33.3 22.3 39.5
2013 732 33.0 22.1 44.3
2014 746 33.0 22.6 44.9
2015 735 34.0 21.6 44.9
2016 729 36.0 20.2 48.8
2017 790 33.5 23.5 50.9
2018 827 32.5 25.4 42.9
2019 810 35.5 22.8 40.9
2020 833 35.5 23.4 43.8
2021 768 37.0 20.7 n/a
2022 657 29.5 22.2 19.8
2023 630 32.5 19.3 47.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio L. Thomas Heck Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2010 654 38.5 16.9 50.6
2011 738 33.5 22.0 0.4
2012 746 33.3 22.3 39.5
2013 732 33.0 22.1 44.3
2014 746 33.0 22.6 44.9
2015 735 34.0 21.6 44.9
2016 729 36.0 20.2 48.8
2017 790 33.5 23.5 50.9
2018 827 32.5 25.4 42.9
2019 810 35.5 22.8 40.9
2020 833 35.5 23.4 43.8
2021 768 37.0 20.7 n/a
2022 657 29.5 22.2 19.8
2023 630 32.5 19.3 47.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for L. Thomas Heck Middle School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $835 (11.2%) $7,015 (94.2%) $7,448
2020 $1,238 (16.6%) $6,693 (89.5%) $7,475
2021 $1,462 (23.4%) $5,470 (87.7%) $6,236
2022 $785 (11.7%) $6,325 (94.2%) $6,717

Data source: Arizona Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on L. Thomas Heck Middle School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 220th of 605 Middle schoolsRanks 372nd of 854 Middle schools
 7.2%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students810630
 22.2%
African American10874
 31.5%
American Indian87
 12.5%
Asian4021
 47.5%
Hispanic322328
 1.9%
Pacific Islander03
White286161
 43.7%
Two or More Races4636
 21.7%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients40.9%47.9%
 7.1%


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Frequently Asked Questions about L. Thomas Heck Middle School

L. Thomas Heck Middle School ranks 310th of 533 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students who attend L. Thomas Heck Middle School usually go on to attend Millennium High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 630 students attended L. Thomas Heck Middle School.

Students at L. Thomas Heck Middle School are 52% Hispanic, 26% White, 12% African American, 6% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 1% 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.





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