Challenger Middle School

Summary:

Challenger Middle School is a public middle school located in Tucson, Arizona, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 654 students. The school is part of the Sunnyside Unified District, which is ranked 269 out of 288 districts in Arizona and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Challenger Middle School consistently performs below the Sunnyside Unified District and the state of Arizona in standardized test scores. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 13% of 7th-grade students and 9% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in AASA/English Language Arts, compared to 20% and 15% for the district, and 41% and 35% for the state, respectively. The school's performance in AASA/Mathematics is also significantly lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, Challenger Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Arizona middle schools, with a ranking of 531 out of 533 in the 2023-2024 school year.

When comparing Challenger Middle School to other nearby schools within the Sunnyside Unified District, such as Billy Lane Lauffer Middle School and Gallego Intermediate Fine Arts Magnet School, Challenger consistently performs worse in academic metrics, including standardized test scores and statewide rankings. The school also has a higher dropout rate compared to the state average, and a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 100 E Elvira Rd
       Tucson, AZ  85756-6726


(520) 545-4600

District: Sunnyside Unified District

SchoolDigger Rank:
531st of 533 Arizona Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $6,510 Help


Students who attend Challenger Middle School usually attend:

High:    Desert View High School

Feeder schools for Challenger Middle School:

Elementary:    Elvira Elementary School
    Los Ninos Elementary School
    Santa Clara Elementary School
    Summit View Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  20.9 Help
Number of students:  654

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
88.1%
American Indian:
6.3%
White:
3.1%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  81.8% Help


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 Compare Challenger Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Challenger Middle School ranks worse than 99.6% of middle schools in Arizona. It also ranks last among 5 ranked middle schools in the Sunnyside Unified District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 6.77. (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 Racial makeup is: Hispanic (88.1%), American Indian (6.3%), White (3.1%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 81.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Challenger Middle School is 20.9. 3 middle schools in the Sunnyside Unified District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Challenger Middle School employs 31.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Challenger Middle School is $6,510. 3 middle schools in the Sunnyside Unified District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Challenger Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Challenger Middle School 531st of 533 Arizona public middle schools. (See Challenger Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


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


Sunnyside Unified District:

SchoolDigger ranks Sunnyside Unified District 269th of 288 Arizona school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Challenger Middle School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2009 29.81 496th 663 25.2%
2010 34.31 475th 692 31.4%
2011 22.62 569th 685 16.9%
2012 26.11 635th 772 17.7%
2013 17.68 707th 787 10.2%
2014 10.44 648th 690 6.1%
2015 10.60 507th 521 2.7%
2016 17.04 584th 677 13.7%
2017 17.18 605th 695 12.9%
2018 13.95 640th 711 10.0%
2019 13.86 536th 605 11.4%
2021 15.48 772nd 832 7.2%
2022 8.48 588th 605 2.8%
2023 12.22 816th 854 4.4%
2024 6.77 531st 533 0.4%
See the entire list of Arizona Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 33.61 444th 650 31.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 42.31 196th 606 67.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 34.96 527th 789 33.2%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.78 457th 503 9.1%
2022 9.44 366th 369 0.8%
2023 13.85 681st 717 5.0%
2024 7.73 313th 314 0.3%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 32.57 172nd 257 33.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.26 533rd 624 14.6%
2019 11.38 425th 466 8.8%
2021 18.47 732nd 820 10.7%
2022 6.29 488th 494 1.2%
2023 10.81 786th 806 2.5%
2024 3.75 379th 379 0.0%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 13.33 571st 617 7.5%
2019 10.02 406th 435 6.7%
2021 16.29 760th 818 7.1%
2022 6.10 467th 476 1.9%
2023 11.69 784th 810 3.2%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 9.68 381st 404 5.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 61.46 31st 125 75.2%
2021 29.16 435th 573 24.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.92 474th 543 12.7%
2019 18.33 334th 387 13.7%
2021 21.42 714th 802 11.0%
2022 11.15 382nd 392 2.6%
2023 13.81 722nd 760 5.0%
2024 8.19 320th 322 0.6%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 32.44 266th 390 31.8%
2023 9.62 154th 159 3.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Challenger Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 19.27 685th 780 12.2%
2023 29.25 487th 675 27.9%
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.

Challenger 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: 5)
100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

  


No reviews have been submitted!


Enrollment information for Challenger Middle School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1998 74 11 4 406 75 n/a n/a 0 570
1999 94 16 4 647 87 n/a n/a 0 848
2000 87 19 4 643 81 n/a n/a 0 834
2001 78 21 2 659 81 n/a n/a 0 841
2002 58 19 3 760 99 n/a n/a 0 939
2003 58 19 3 760 99 n/a n/a 0 939
2004 55 14 1 800 94 n/a n/a 0 964
2005 53 13 3 859 98 n/a n/a 0 1026
2006 43 13 2 797 84 n/a n/a 0 939
2007 26 9 2 674 74 n/a n/a 0 785
2008 24 6 3 602 75 n/a n/a 0 710
2009 31 4 3 727 78 n/a n/a 0 843
2010 34 5 3 772 75 n/a n/a 0 889
2011 32 7 1 799 65 2 3 0 909
2012 21 7 1 852 72 1 2 0 956
2013 16 6 0 841 69 3 4 0 939
2014 25 6 0 836 75 0 3 0 945
2015 43 26 1 816 57 0 1 0 944
2016 31 24 0 734 64 0 1 0 854
2017 33 18 1 675 54 1 0 0 782
2018 20 26 1 662 52 1 3 0 765
2019 21 26 0 669 49 0 2 0 767
2020 26 23 1 604 45 0 4 0 703
2021 22 24 2 651 48 0 6 0 753
2022 22 16 0 647 31 0 3 0 719
2023 20 11 0 576 41 0 6 0 654

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 Challenger Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 570 29.5 19.3 n/a
1999 848 40.0 21.2 n/a
2000 834 37.8 22.1 n/a
2001 841 43.0 19.6 n/a
2002 939 46.0 20.4 n/a
2003 939 46.0 20.4 n/a
2004 964 48.4 19.9 91.8
2005 1026 52.0 19.7 98.6
2006 939 51.0 18.4 94.6
2007 785 49.0 16.0 75.4
2008 710 46.0 15.4 81
2009 843 48.0 17.6 83.5
2010 889 49.2 18.0 75.6
2011 909 46.2 19.6 75.7
2012 956 49.2 19.4 n/a
2013 939 41.8 22.4 7.5
2014 945 42.0 22.5 80.7
2015 944 48.0 19.6 80.8
2016 854 46.0 18.5 0.8
2017 782 41.0 19.0 87.1
2018 765 36.0 21.2 78.8
2019 767 42.0 18.2 82.9
2020 703 38.1 18.4 78.9
2021 753 35.1 21.4 n/a
2022 719 35.8 20.0 41.9
2023 654 31.2 20.9 81.8

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 Challenger Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 570 29.5 19.3 n/a
1999 848 40.0 21.2 n/a
2000 834 37.8 22.1 n/a
2001 841 43.0 19.6 n/a
2002 939 46.0 20.4 n/a
2003 939 46.0 20.4 n/a
2004 964 48.4 19.9 91.8
2005 1026 52.0 19.7 98.6
2006 939 51.0 18.4 94.6
2007 785 49.0 16.0 75.4
2008 710 46.0 15.4 81
2009 843 48.0 17.6 83.5
2010 889 49.2 18.0 75.6
2011 909 46.2 19.6 75.7
2012 956 49.2 19.4 n/a
2013 939 41.8 22.4 7.5
2014 945 42.0 22.5 80.7
2015 944 48.0 19.6 80.8
2016 854 46.0 18.5 0.8
2017 782 41.0 19.0 87.1
2018 765 36.0 21.2 78.8
2019 767 42.0 18.2 82.9
2020 703 38.1 18.4 78.9
2021 753 35.1 21.4 n/a
2022 719 35.8 20.0 41.9
2023 654 31.2 20.9 81.8

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 Challenger Middle School

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YearPersonnel Expenditures from Federal FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from Federal FundsTotal Expenditures from Federal FundsPersonnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $950 (10.6%) $96 (1.1%) $1,995 (22.3%) $5,829 (65.0%) $2,086 (23.3%) $7,915 (88.3%) $8,961
2020 $1,030 (8.6%) $251 (2.1%) $2,311 (19.3%) $9,909 (82.9%) $764 (6.4%) $10,672 (89.3%) $11,953
2021 $413 (7.7%) $28 (0.5%) $854 (15.9%) $4,553 (85.0%) $362 (6.8%) $4,915 (91.8%) $5,356
2022 $574 (8.8%) $39 (0.6%) $1,187 (18.2%) $5,393 (82.8%) $504 (7.7%) $5,896 (90.6%) $6,510

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Challenger 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 536th of 605 Middle schoolsRanks 816th of 854 Middle schools
 7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students767654
 14.7%
African American2611
 57.7%
American Indian4941
 16.3%
Asian00
Hispanic669576
 13.9%
Pacific Islander00
White2120
 4.8%
Two or More Races26
 200%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients82.9%81.8%
 1.1%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Challenger Middle School

Challenger Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.4% of Arizona middle schools.

Students at Challenger Middle School are 88% Hispanic, 6% American Indian, 3% White, 2% African American.

Students who attend Challenger Middle School usually go on to attend Desert View High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 654 students attended Challenger Middle School.


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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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