La Cima Middle School, Tucson AZ

Original Research by School Decision on La Cima Middle School

La Cima Middle School serves grades six through eight in Tucson, within the Amphitheater Unified District. The school is located in the northern part of the city, an area that blends mid-century residential neighborhoods with newer commercial development. La Cima is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white, Black, Asian, and Native American students. The enrollment is moderate for a middle school in a district of this size.

Academically, the school faces real challenges. On the state assessments for the most recent school year, proficiency rates in math were modest across all three grades, and in English language arts they were higher but still below what many families would hope for. Science proficiency was in a similar range. When compared with other schools in districts across Pima County, La Cima’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quarter of the set. These numbers suggest that the academic program is an area a parent would want to investigate further with the school, particularly around math instruction and any interventions or supports in place.

A multi-year trend view of proficiency rates was not available in a form that allows for a clear comparison across years, so it is not possible from the data to say whether performance has been improving, declining, or holding steady. A family looking at this school would want to ask the school directly about how student growth is measured and what recent adjustments have been made to instruction or curriculum.

The school’s location in Tucson places it in a large, sprawling desert city with a strong university anchor and a mix of historic downtown life and auto-dependent suburban neighborhoods. The University of Arizona and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base are major employers, and the local economy also includes optics and tech industries, tourism, and government. The housing market in the area around the school shows home values that are somewhat above the state median, though below the national median. Rents in the area are at a level where renting may be more affordable than buying a home at current mortgage rates, a consideration for families weighing the tradeoffs of entry into this housing market. The district itself did not have recent major changes publicly reported, so a parent may want to reach out to the district office to ask about any current initiatives, boundary adjustments, or program shifts affecting La Cima.

For a family considering La Cima Middle School, the core takeaway is that it serves a diverse student body in a stable Tucson neighborhood, but its academic results on state assessments are below the midpoint for its county. A parent would want to learn about the school’s specific intervention strategies, any elective or enrichment offerings, and how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency benchmarks. The school’s web presence or a visit would be the best way to get a clearer picture of the day-to-day academic climate.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 35% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 32% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 28% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 50% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 46% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 49% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Science

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 37% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolAmphitheater Unified District (4406), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.