Enrollment
925
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040340002112
Desert Ridge Jr. High — Mesa, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Desert Ridge Jr. High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 17
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Gilbert Unified District (4239) · Arizona
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Ridge Jr. High compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Desert Ridge Jr. High reports 925 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Arizona average and 64% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 308 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 48.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gilbert Unified District (4239) spends $10,931 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 43.1% from local sources (property taxes), 44.8% from the state, and 12.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Desert Ridge Jr. High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.7:1 | ▲ 17% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.9% | ▼ 61% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 925 | top 89% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
18.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.7:1
students per teacher
— 17% above state mean
Top 78% in Arizona — lower ratio than 22% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
48.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,931
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 308 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
86
in-school suspensions + 115 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 925 Top 89% in Arizona — larger than 11% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 20.7:1 +17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.9% -61% vs state
NCES ID 040340002112
Student demographics
White 57.3%
Hispanic or Latino 29.9%
Two or More 6.3%
African American 3.7%
Asian 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 57.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 308:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 48.1%
In-school suspensions 86
Out-of-school suspensions 115
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gilbert Unified District (4239), which includes Desert Ridge Jr. High.
$10,931
Per student
-27%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-44%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 43.1%
State 44.8%
Federal 12.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,992
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,418
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,103
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,863
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,303
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
Similar middle schools in Mesa
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Highland Jr High School
Standard public school
961 students 21.3:1 students per teacher
Carson Junior High School
Standard public school
946 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Taylor Junior High School
Standard public school
908 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Stapley Junior High School
Standard public school
899 students 19.6:1 students per teacher
Fremont Junior High School
Standard public school
822 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Kino Junior High School
Standard public school
805 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Desert Ridge Jr. High
How many students attend Desert Ridge Jr. High?
Desert Ridge Jr. High has 925 students enrolled. It is a middle school in MESA, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Ridge Jr. High?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Ridge Jr. High is 20.7:1, which is 17% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 30% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Ridge Jr. High?
18.9% of students at Desert Ridge Jr. High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Ridge Jr. High?
The largest demographic group at Desert Ridge Jr. High is White at 57.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in MESA, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Ridge Jr. High?
Desert Ridge Jr. High has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.