Middle school (grades 6-8) · Tucson, AZ

Alice Vail Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Alice Vail Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 040880000817
0/100100/10034/100
👥 S:T ratio
52
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
14
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Alice Vail Middle School earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Arizona schools.

#16 of 25
middle schools in Tucson · Resource Index
34
Resource Index · Typical
11.9:1
small classes for Arizona
60.0%
free-lunch eligible

Alice Vail Middle School has class sizes smaller than 85% of Arizona schools. Computed live against every Arizona school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Alice Vail Middle School ranks #16 of 25 middle schools in Tucson, AZ.

Enrollment

573

Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

48.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

11.9:1

vs 17:1 Arizona avg

-30% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

60.0%

vs 48.3% Arizona avg

+24% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Alice Vail Middle School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Alice Vail Middle School

Alice Vail Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Tucson, Arizona, enrolling 573 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 11.9:1, Alice Vail Middle School is leaner than roughly 85% of Arizona schools and 30% under the state's 17:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 60.0% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 573 puts it in the larger third of Arizona schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,064 scored Arizona schools.

Against 352 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #104.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (50%) and White (27%) (diversity index 66/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 428 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 91.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 23.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Tucson's middle schools, it stands alongside Apollo Middle School (480 students): Alice Vail Middle School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.9:1 vs 14.1:1).

Tucson Unified District (4403) also operates Tucson Magnet High School (2,938 students) and Pueblo High School (1,821 students) alongside Alice Vail Middle School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Alice Vail Middle School compares

Alice Vail Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Arizona and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Arizona Arizona avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 11.9:1 ▼ 30% 17:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 60.0% ▲ 24% 48.3% 51.7%
Enrollment 573 top 31% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

11.9:1
Leaner classes than 76% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
573
Bigger than 70% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
60.0%
free-lunch eligible - 24% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.9:1
students per teacher - 30% below state mean
Top 15% in Arizona - lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
91.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,545
per pupil, district-wide - below Arizona avg of $13,145
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.3 FTE
Per 428 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 73 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 49.9%
White 27.1%
African American 11.2%
Two or More 5.9%
Asian 2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.7%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 49.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 66.0/100

Simpson diversity index - at 66.0, Alice Vail Middle School is more mixed than the Arizona school average of 47.2.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tucson Unified District (4403), which includes Alice Vail Middle School.

$11,545
Per student
-12%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.8%
State 34.7%
Federal 23.6%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Alice Vail Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Tucson Magnet High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Pueblo High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Cholla High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Sahuaro High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Catalina Online Learning Experience Larger No free-lunch data No ratio data

Comparisons are relative to Alice Vail Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Tucson Unified District (4403) · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Tucson

2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arizona, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Alice Vail Middle School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Alice Vail Middle School

How many students attend Alice Vail Middle School?

Alice Vail Middle School has 573 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Tucson, AZ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Alice Vail Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Alice Vail Middle School is 11.9:1, which is 30% lower than the Arizona average of 17:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alice Vail Middle School?

60.0% of students at Alice Vail Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alice Vail Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Alice Vail Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 49.9% of enrollment, in Tucson, AZ. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.0/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Alice Vail Middle School?

Alice Vail Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Alice Vail Middle School rank among middle schools in Tucson?

By Resource Investment Index, Alice Vail Middle School ranks #16 of 25 middle schools in Tucson, AZ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Tucson on the city page.

Is Alice Vail Middle School a good school?

Alice Vail Middle School earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 85% of Arizona schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Tucson Unified District (4403)?

Besides Alice Vail Middle School, Tucson Unified District (4403) also operates Tucson Magnet High School (2,938 students), Pueblo High School (1,821 students), and Cholla High School (1,575 students). See the Tucson Unified District (4403) district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.