Dobson Academy the - a Ball Charter School, Chandler AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Dobson Academy the - a Ball Charter School

Dobson Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Chandler, a sprawling Phoenix suburb defined by master-planned subdivisions, tech campuses, and freeway corridors. The school sits off Dobson Road in the central part of the city, a setting where wide arterial roads and strip retail are the norm. Chandler itself has grown rapidly over decades, adding substantial population while becoming a recognized hub for semiconductor manufacturing and other high-tech employers like Intel. The school’s enrollment is moderate for its grade band, drawing from the surrounding neighborhood and the broader charter choice pool in the area.

The student body is notably diverse, a characteristic that families may weigh according to their preferences. Hispanic or Latino students make up the largest share, followed by white students, Black students, students identifying as two or more races, Asian students, American Indian or Alaska Native students, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor was information on students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent wanting the full socioeconomic and support-services picture would need to follow up directly with the school.

Academically, the school delivers a mixed but generally solid performance. On the state assessments administered in the most recent school year, proficiency in English language arts across tested grades fell in a range that is above the midpoint for schools relative to districts across Maricopa County, and the school’s overall proficiency index across subjects and grades also sits above that countywide midpoint. Math performance is a bit more uneven. Scores in the lower elementary grades were notably strong, while by middle school the rates dropped noticeably. Science results for fifth grade were moderate. The eighth-grade math and science results were withheld from public reporting due to small group sizes, which is a common practice when too few students are tested to reliably report a figure.

Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to examine. The data available does not include chronic absenteeism figures, so how consistently students attend day to day is not clear from the record.

The district that operates Dobson Academy, Ball Charter Schools (Dobson), does not appear to have recently undergone any major publicly reported changes that would alter a family’s near-term expectations. The school itself has been operating as a regular charter school, a designation that indicates it follows state academic standards but operates independently of the local school district. Parents considering Dobson Academy should note the unevenness in middle-school math proficiency, which may warrant a conversation with the school about curriculum, intervention supports, and how the school prepares students for the transition to high school, where math demands intensify. The school’s relative strength in language arts through the grades, combined with its charter structure and moderate size, may appeal to families seeking a predictable K-8 pathway in a growing suburban area without the footprint of a large traditional district school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 43% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 60% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

This schoolBall Charter Schools (Dobson) (79204), 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.