The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Math. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Career Success Schools (79047)
Career Success Schools operates as a single kindergarten-through-grade-12 district in Maricopa County, Arizona. The district’s enrollment is concentrated at the upper end of the grade band; the vast majority of its students are in eleventh and twelfth grades, which gives the district a distinctly secondary-school character. The elementary and middle grades each enroll a comparatively small number of students.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with White students as the next largest group, followed by Black and American Indian or Alaska Native students in roughly equal shares. Asian and multiracial students each account for a very small portion. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals was not available. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was also absent from the data we reviewed.
State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show a pattern of low proficiency rates in the grades where data could be reported. In math, the third-grade proficiency rate was low, the fourth-grade rate was higher but still modest, and data for fifth, seventh, and eighth grades were suppressed. In sixth-grade math the rate was again low. English language arts results follow a similar arc: the fourth-grade rate was low, the sixth-grade rate was equally low, and the eighth-grade rate, while still low, was the highest among the reported grades. Science results for eighth grade were very low. Several grade-level results across subjects were suppressed, and when this occurs in a small district it is often because the number of test-takers was too small for the state to report publicly. A parent should know that the academic performance picture is uneven, and the district’s overall proficiency index places Career Success Schools in the bottom quartile among Maricopa County’s districts.
The district spends substantially less per pupil than most districts in the county, falling in the lower range for that measure. On the other hand, the chronic absenteeism rate is above the midpoint among county districts, meaning it tracks slightly better than the county median on that metric. That said, the rate is still substantial.
A graduation rate was not reported in the data we have, so it is not possible to speak to how many students complete high school within four years. This is a notable gap for a district whose enrollment is so heavily weighted toward seniors.
The district runs four schools: Tech Campus, Career Success Schools - STEM Academy 7-12, Career Success School - Sage Campus, and Robert L. Duffy High School. The names suggest a focus on career and technical education and STEM programming, though the data we reviewed does not include a listing of specific course offerings or dual-enrollment opportunities. A family interested in career-connected pathways would want to confirm what programs are actually available at each campus.
We looked for information about recent district changes, such as boundary adjustments, leadership turnover, or program expansions, and found little of lasting impact publicly reported. The district website was not provided in the data, and no locale brief was included, so we cannot describe the communities the district serves or the housing context. A parent evaluating this district would want to visit the individual schools and ask directly about curriculum, student supports, and post-graduation outcomes. This is a district with a heavy high school footprint, a student body that is majority Hispanic, and academic proficiency numbers that are notably low relative to other districts in Maricopa County.
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