The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mesa Verde Elementary School
Mesa Verde Elementary School serves students in preschool through fifth grade as a regular public school in Tucson, part of the Amphitheater Unified District. The school’s student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic student population, alongside small numbers of Asian, Black, Native American, and multiracial students. The data did not include information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, or those receiving special education or English learner services, so a full picture of the school’s economic and support-need profile is not available here.
On state assessments, Mesa Verde’s results present a mixed picture. In third-grade math, more than half of students met the proficiency bar, a solid showing. Fourth-grade math was stronger, and reading in fourth grade followed a similar pattern, with more than half of students proficient. Third-grade reading, however, landed below that mark. Fifth-grade performance dropped noticeably in both subjects, with fewer than half of students demonstrating proficiency in math and more than a third doing so in reading. Science scores in fifth grade were lower still. Reading proficiency across all tested grades, when averaged, stood slightly above the midpoint of the school’s own results from the prior year, while math held steady, though with only two years of data in the trend it is difficult to draw a firm trajectory. Compared with other schools within the same district cohort in Pima County, Mesa Verde’s combined proficiency index places it in the top quartile, meaning that despite the dips in the upper grades, the school’s overall tested performance is strong relative to its peers across the county.
The neighborhood around Mesa Verde, in the 85704 zip code, fits into Tucson’s broader housing market. Home values in that area are somewhat above the statewide average in Arizona, and slightly above the national median, though they have seen a modest year-over-year decline. Rents in the area sit very close to the average metro-area rent-to-income ratio, suggesting that renting is a reasonable option for households earning around the national median income. Monthly mortgage costs, based on current interest rates and a standard down payment, would run noticeably higher than rent, making homeownership less affordable than renting in the near term. These figures reflect the zip code broadly, not Mesa Verde’s attendance boundaries specifically, but they give a sense of the economic context for families living in the area.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Because it serves only elementary grades, it has no high school graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported in the available information. The district, Amphitheater Unified, underwent no notable recent changes that surfaced in public records; the data available did not indicate any major restructuring, boundary shifts, or program launches in the last several years.
Tucson itself is a large desert city with a historic core, a major university, and a wide suburban footprint. The University of Arizona and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base anchor the local economy, along with optics and tech industries. Downtown and the university area are the most walkable parts of the city, linked by a streetcar line, but outside that corridor the city is car-dependent and dispersed. Mesa Verde sits in a residential part of the city, in the north-central area, within a school district that serves a broad swath of Tucson’s northwestern neighborhoods. The city has seen ongoing suburban growth to the northwest and south, while downtown has experienced reinvestment; the school’s location places it in a more established part of town.
For a family looking at Mesa Verde, the profile is that of an elementary school with competitive test scores for its county, though the fifth-grade slide in reading and math is a pattern a parent may want to ask the school about directly. The student body is majority white with a strong Hispanic minority, and the school draws from a neighborhood where home prices run above state averages but rents remain in line with typical metro levels. The lack of data on free lunch eligibility and special education services leaves some important context about the school’s student needs unaddressed. Families who value a top-quartile academic showing within the county will find that here, particularly in the earlier elementary years. Those concerned about a drop-off in the upper grades may want to explore how the school supports students transitioning into the higher elementary curriculum.
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