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

Pistor Middle School

Federal NCES profile for Pistor Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 040880000874
0/100100/10053/100
👥 S:T ratio
47
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
42
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Pistor Middle School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% of Arizona schools.

#5 of 25
middle schools in Tucson · Resource Index
53
Resource Index · Higher
13.2:1
small classes for Arizona
65.9%
free-lunch eligible

Pistor Middle School has class sizes smaller than 78% of Arizona schools. Computed live against every Arizona school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Pistor Middle School ranks #5 of 25 middle schools in Tucson, AZ.

Enrollment

579

Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

44.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.2:1

vs 17:1 Arizona avg

-22% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

65.9%

vs 48.3% Arizona avg

+36% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Pistor 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 Pistor Middle School

Pistor Middle School is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Tucson, Arizona, enrolling 579 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Arizona schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 65.9% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 579 puts it in the larger third of Arizona schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 91% of the 2,064 Arizona schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Among 337 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Arizona schools statewide, it ranks #8, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 290 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

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

Discipline events run high: 134 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 579 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Among Tucson's middle schools, it stands alongside Apollo Middle School (480 students): Pistor Middle School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.2:1 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 Pistor 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 Pistor Middle School compares

Pistor 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 13.2:1 ▼ 22% 17:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 65.9% ▲ 36% 48.3% 51.7%
Enrollment 579 top 31% - -

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

13.2:1
Leaner classes than 65% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
579
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
65.9%
free-lunch eligible - 36% 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
13.2:1
students per teacher - 22% below state mean
Top 22% in Arizona - lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 290 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
9
in-school suspensions + 125 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 23.1 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 81.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 8.6%
White 5.4%
African American 1.6%
Two or More 1.6%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 81.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.2, Pistor Middle School is less 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 Pistor 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 Pistor 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 Lower 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 Pistor 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 Pistor 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 Pistor Middle School

How many students attend Pistor Middle School?

Pistor Middle School has 579 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Tucson, AZ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Pistor Middle School?

The student-teacher ratio at Pistor Middle School is 13.2:1, which is 22% lower than the Arizona average of 17:1 and 16% 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 Pistor Middle School?

65.9% of students at Pistor Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pistor Middle School?

The largest demographic group at Pistor Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 81.7% of enrollment, in Tucson, AZ.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Pistor Middle School?

Pistor Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Pistor Middle School rank among middle schools in Tucson?

By Resource Investment Index, Pistor Middle School ranks #5 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 Pistor Middle School a good school?

Pistor Middle School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 78% 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 Pistor 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.

View saved

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.