Enrollment
940
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040472001468
Maricopa Wells Middle School — Maricopa, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Maricopa Wells Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 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: Maricopa Unified School District (4441) · 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)
48.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Maricopa Wells Middle School 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
Maricopa Wells Middle School reports 940 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 48.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% 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 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 48.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 1% below the Arizona average and 7% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 313 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 60.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Maricopa Unified School District (4441) spends $15,521 per pupil district-wide, above the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.7% from local sources (property taxes), 65.3% from the state, and 13.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Maricopa Wells Middle School 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 | 19.5:1 | ▲ 10% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.0% | ▼ 1% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 940 | top 90% | — | — |
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
48.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 1% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 69% in Arizona — lower ratio than 31% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
60.0%
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
$15,521
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 313 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
275
in-school suspensions + 138 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 29.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 43.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 940 Top 90% in Arizona — larger than 10% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 48.0
Students per teacher 19.5:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 48.0% -1% vs state
NCES ID 040472001468
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 46.3%
White 21.0%
African American 17.8%
Two or More 7.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 5.3%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 46.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 313:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 60.0%
In-school suspensions 275
Out-of-school suspensions 138
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Maricopa Unified School District (4441), which includes Maricopa Wells Middle School.
$15,521
Per student
+3%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.7%
State 65.3%
Federal 13.0%
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
- 1,840
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,261
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 941
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 920
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 898
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
Similar middle schools in Maricopa
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Maricopa Wells Middle School
How many students attend Maricopa Wells Middle School?
Maricopa Wells Middle School has 940 students enrolled. It is a middle school in MARICOPA, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Maricopa Wells Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Maricopa Wells Middle School is 19.5:1, which is 10% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 23% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Maricopa Wells Middle School?
48.0% of students at Maricopa Wells Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Maricopa Wells Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Maricopa Wells Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 46.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in MARICOPA, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Maricopa Wells Middle School?
Maricopa Wells Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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.