The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Marion Donaldson Elementary School
Marion Donaldson Elementary School is a regular public school in Tucson, part of the Amphitheater Unified District, serving children from prekindergarten through fifth grade. Its enrollment is on the smaller side for an elementary school, and the student body reflects the broader diversity of the city’s northwest side. Roughly half the students are of Hispanic heritage, about four in ten are White, and the remainder includes Black, Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the support programs in place.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year give a picture of where students stand in core subjects. In math, third-grade proficiency was in the range of about three in ten students meeting the state benchmark; fifth-grade math was a little higher, above a third. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency was similar to math, at roughly a third, while fourth-grade ELA climbed to nearly half of students proficient. Results for fourth-grade math, fifth-grade ELA, and fifth-grade science were suppressed because the number of students tested was small, a standard practice that can happen in a school of this size. When measured against other elementary schools in Pima County districts, Marion Donaldson’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint, placing it in the middle range of the county. A parent looking for a clearer sense of year-to-year trends will find only a single year of data available, so no trajectory can be described yet.
The school does not offer magnet or charter programs; it operates as a traditional neighborhood elementary school within the Amphitheater district. No information was found about course access, staffing ratios, or disciplinary practices, and the district brief turned up no recent changes of note to pass along. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported.
The neighborhood around Marion Donaldson Elementary is in a residential area of Tucson, a large desert city that spreads across a wide geographic footprint. Homes in the zip code carry a value somewhat above the statewide typical figure, and rents follow a similar pattern. Tucson itself is anchored by the University of Arizona, which is a major employer, along with Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and a cluster of optics and technology firms. The city’s downtown core has seen revitalization and is connected to the university by the Sun Link streetcar, but outside of that corridor the built environment is largely automobile-dependent. The school sits outside the most walkable central area, so families will likely rely on driving for drop-off and errands. Mountain ranges, saguaro-studded parks, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum are part of the region’s character, and the city’s Sonoran food culture is a recognized draw.
For a family considering this school, the profile is that of a mid-sized elementary in an established Tucson neighborhood, with academic results that fall in the middle of the county’s range. The available test scores show room for growth in both math and reading, particularly in the lower elementary grades. The suppression of several grade-level results due to small cohort size is not unusual, but it does mean less data is publicly available to compare across years or student groups. A parent may want to visit the school and ask about class size, support for students who are below proficiency, and how the school addresses the needs of its diverse student body. No current programs or special initiatives were listed in the data, so that too is a natural topic for a school tour or a conversation with the principal.
See more original research from School Decision →