Academy of Math and Science, Tucson AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Academy of Math and Science

Academy of Math and Science is a public charter school in Tucson serving kindergarten through eighth grade, with grades nine through twelve listed in its authorization but showing no current enrollment at those levels, meaning the school operates as a K-8 campus in practice. It is a regular school within the Academy of Mathematics and Science Inc. charter network, and it sits on Prince Road in Tucson’s central corridor, a wide commercial stretch in the midtown area.

The school’s enrollment is small for the grade band it serves, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, followed by smaller shares of White, Black, and Native American or Asian students. Data on students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and English learners was not available, so a family would want to ask the school directly about the supports and services it offers for those populations.

On state assessments in the most recent testing year, the school’s results vary noticeably by grade level and subject, and the overall picture is one of a school where older students tend to perform more strongly than younger ones. In math, proficiency rates in the early elementary grades are below a majority, while by seventh and eighth grade they rise. A similar pattern appears in English language arts: third and fourth grade proficiency is low, but by seventh and eighth grade the rates climb considerably, with eighth grade reaching a level that stands out positively. In science, eighth grade performance is stronger than fifth grade. Looking at the school’s broader position relative to other district-level entities in Pima County, its overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile, meaning it compares favorably to the county median, even though the year-to-year multi-year trend shows a dip that a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand.

The school is a charter, which means it operates independently of the local traditional school district and families choose to enroll. The parent organization, Academy of Mathematics and Science Inc., did not have recent district-level changes or strategic priorities available from public sources, so the narrative on that front is limited. Tucson is a large desert city anchored by the University of Arizona and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, with a downtown and university core that is the most walkable and connected by a streetcar, while much of the city is automobile-dependent and suburban in character. Housing values in the area around the school are moderately priced relative to national benchmarks.

Because the school does not currently serve high school grades, it has no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available. The academic picture is one where the school performs competitively within the county overall, but the uneven results across grade levels mean a family would be wise to look closely at how their child’s grade is performing and ask the school how it addresses the early-grade gaps. The school’s name signals a math and science focus, yet no specific program offerings or course access data was provided to confirm how that emphasis plays out in the curriculum.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 61%

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

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 37% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 36% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 38%

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 43% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 56% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 29% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 56% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 69% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolAcademy of Mathematics and Science Inc. (79961), 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.