The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in English language arts. The lowest is 50% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Phoenix International Academy (903484)
Phoenix International Academy is a single-school charter district in Maricopa County serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a small district, and its size shapes nearly everything about it. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black population as well, and smaller shares of White, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and two-or-more-races students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals was not available in the data reviewed, nor were counts of students with individualized education plans or English learner classifications, so a family looking into this school may want to ask the school directly about its range of student supports.
Academically, the picture is both encouraging and uneven. On the 2024-25 state assessments, the district’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile among Maricopa County’s districts. This is a strong relative position. The strongest results were in English language arts, where proficiency rates climbed from fourth grade through eighth grade, with most grade levels showing a majority of students meeting or exceeding standards. Sixth grade reached a very high proficiency rate. Eighth grade English language arts results were also solid. Mathematics results were more mixed and substantially lower than the English language arts outcomes. In fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, and seventh grade, the proficiency data was suppressed, meaning the tested group was too small to report publicly without risking student identification, though the count of tested students in each of those grades was available. Eighth grade math had a reported proficiency rate, which came in at a level that families may want to explore further with the school to understand the instructional approach and support available. Science results for both fifth and eighth grade were also suppressed due to small testing groups, so no conclusions can be drawn about science achievement from this data.
Because the district only serves elementary and middle school grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The data on chronic absenteeism, however, shows a rate that falls in the top quartile among Maricopa County’s districts, meaning it is among the lower rates of chronic absence countywide. This suggests that most students attend school regularly, which is a positive signal for continuity of instruction.
A notable distinction in the data is the district’s per-pupil current spending, which sits in the upper range when compared with other districts in Maricopa County. This is a significant figure for a small charter district and may reflect the costs of operating a single school with a limited enrollment base. A parent may want to ask how those resources translate into classroom conditions, staffing levels, and student programs.
The district operates one school, also named Phoenix International Academy. The available public information did not contain evidence of recent parent-relevant changes such as leadership transitions, program expansions, or facility updates, so families should rely on direct contact with the school for that picture. The school’s name suggests a focus that families with an interest in international or globally oriented education may find worth investigating, though the data set reviewed did not include specific program descriptions to confirm this.
For a family considering this school, the takeaway is that its academic performance in English language arts is a clear strength within its county context, while math achievement is less certain and potentially a soft spot. The small enrollment means class sizes are likely small as well, which can be either a draw or a limitation depending on a family’s preferences for peer group size and course variety. The school does not serve high school grades, so a family would need to plan for a transition to another school after eighth grade. The community and housing context for the school’s location was not included in the data, so no picture of the surrounding neighborhood’s housing market or demographics is available here.
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