Enrollment
295
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040880000901
Wakefield Middle School — Tucson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Wakefield Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 Attendance 10
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: Tucson Unified District (4403) · 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)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.1:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
-43% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.8%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wakefield 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
Wakefield Middle School reports 295 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 22.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 43% below the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 36% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 56.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 18% above the Arizona average and 10% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 295 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 35.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tucson Unified District (4403) spends $13,118 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 41.8% from local sources (property taxes), 34.7% from the state, and 23.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), 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 Wakefield 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 | 10.1:1 | ▼ 43% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.8% | ▲ 18% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 295 | top 38% | — | — |
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
56.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 18% 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
10.1:1
students per teacher
— 43% below state mean
Top 6% in Arizona — lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
35.9%
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
$13,118
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 295 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 23 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 295 Top 38% in Arizona — larger than 62% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 22.0
Students per teacher 10.1:1 -43% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 56.8% +18% vs state
NCES ID 040880000901
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 82.4%
White 9.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 4.7%
Two or More 1.4%
African American 1.0%
Asian 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 82.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 295:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 35.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 23
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tucson Unified District (4403), which includes Wakefield Middle School.
$13,118
Per student
-13%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,938
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,821
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,575
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,250
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,184
- Students per teacher
- 66:1
Similar middle schools in Tucson
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lawrence W Cross Middle School
Standard public school
827 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Mansfeld Middle Magnet School
Standard public school
794 students 15.4:1 students per teacher
Flowing Wells Junior High School
Standard public school
758 students 16.7:1 students per teacher
Desert Sky Middle School
Standard public school
743 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Rincon Vista Middle School
Standard public school
712 students 21.2:1 students per teacher
Orange Grove Middle School
Standard public school
683 students 17.8:1 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 Wakefield Middle School
How many students attend Wakefield Middle School?
Wakefield Middle School has 295 students enrolled. It is a middle school in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wakefield Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wakefield Middle School is 10.1:1, which is 43% lower than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 36% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wakefield Middle School?
56.8% of students at Wakefield Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wakefield Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Wakefield Middle School is Hispanic or Latino at 82.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in TUCSON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wakefield Middle School?
Wakefield Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) 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.