Schools · Tucson
Tucson, AZ schools
Tucson’s public schools score well below Arizona’s averages: 23% of students are proficient in reading against 38.5% statewide, and 81% of high schoolers graduate on time against 77.3%. Kids attend one of 58 schools through grade 12, then one of 29 high schools and one of 15 high schools.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B
Tucson’s School Grade: B
The public schools Tucson’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 62% of Arizona’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
B-Test scoresB-Graduation
Arizona school districts we grade (567)Better than 62%
Lower resultsHigher results
Arizona towns with similar household incomes (163)Better than 72%
High confidence. Built on 19,410 tested students and a graduating class of 3,371; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Arizona’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Arizona only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Arizona with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Tucson kids go to school
Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, Tucson Unified)23%
State average 38.5%
Reading (Vail Unified)57%
State average 38.5%
Math (grades PK–12, Tucson Unified)14%
State average 31.2%
Math (Vail Unified)52%
State average 31.2%
Graduation · class of 2020
81% graduate on time
Graduation rate
81%
AZ: 77.3%
Graduating class
3,371
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
Two districts serve Tucson
Tucson Unified DistrictGrades PK–12 · 102 schools · 40,316 students
$13,666 per studentAZ $12,318B-Vail Unified DistrictGrades PK–12 · 25 schools · 15,011 students
$10,173 per studentAZ $12,318A-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 278 schools in Tucson
Showing 1–30 of 278 schools
Leman Academy of Excellence East TucsonElementary · Grades K–8 · 1,157 students
A-CharterMcCorkle PK-8Elementary · Grades PK–8 · 1,048 students
C-PublicLa Paloma Academy (Lakeside)Elementary · Grades K–8 · 855 students
CCharterDesert Willow Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 811 students
A-PublicSierra K-8 SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 801 students
DPublicC E Rose Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 766 students
DPublicMath and Science Success AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 745 students
B+CharterEsmond Station SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 741 students
A+PublicLeman Academy of Excellence - Central TucsonElementary · Grades K–8 · 731 students
A-CharterSenita Valley Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 709 students
A+PublicElvira Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 · 642 students
B-PublicMesquite Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 640 students
A+PublicLa Paloma AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 632 students
C+CharterLos Amigos Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 · 613 students
CPublicRoberts NaylorElementary · Grades PK–8 · 612 students
DPublicCraycroft Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 586 students
CPublicCottonwood Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 · 570 students
A-PublicRoskruge Bilingual Magnet Middle SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 563 students
CPublicHollinger K-8 SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 542 students
C+PublicLineweaver Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 525 students
B+PublicDrexel Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–6 · 515 students
D-PublicTucson Country Day SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 512 students
B+CharterDouglas Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 · 503 students
CPublicGallego Primary Fine Arts MagnetElementary · Grades K–3 · 503 students
C+PublicLa Paloma Academy-SouthElementary · Grades K–8 · 501 students
DCharterLiberty Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–6 · 490 students
C-PublicMission Manor Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–6 · 475 students
C-PublicRaul Grijalva Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–5 · 472 students
DPublicSonoran Science Academy EastElementary · Grades K–8 · 467 students
B+CharterBorman K-8 SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 459 students
B+PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.