Candeo Peoria, Peoria AZ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Candeo Peoria

Candeo Peoria is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in the rapidly growing Phoenix suburb of Peoria. It operates under Candeo Schools Inc., a small charter network. The school sits in a sprawling, car-dependent part of the city, where master-planned communities and discrete commercial nodes like the P83 Entertainment District and Park West shape daily life. Peoria itself has shifted from its agricultural roots toward resort and leisure living, with a new economic corridor along the Loop freeway and a major semiconductor plant under construction that is expected to bring thousands of jobs. The area has seen strong population growth over the past decade, and the housing market reflects that demand: home values in the school’s ZIP code sit well above the statewide median, and rents are commensurate.

The school’s academic record is the strongest signal in the data. On state assessments, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts are high across every tested grade, with several elementary and middle school ELA results reaching near-universal levels. Math proficiency is also consistently strong, though a slight dip shows up in the eighth-grade year. Science, tested in fifth and eighth grades, shows solid but less dominant performance. Compared to other districts across Maricopa County, Candeo Peoria lands in the top quartile for overall proficiency. The school’s own multi-year trend data is limited to a single year, so a longer track record is not available to confirm stability, but the snapshot is clear: this is a high-performing campus.

Classroom composition is fairly distinctive. The student body is majority White, with a substantial Asian population—making Asian students the second-largest group—and smaller shares of Hispanic, two-or-more-race, and Black students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not reported, and neither were special education or English learner counts, so a parent may want to follow up with the school directly about the level of support for those populations. Given the absence of that information, it is not possible to assess the socioeconomic mix from the data on hand.

Because Candeo Peoria stops at eighth grade, families will need to plan for high school transition when their child reaches that point. The school does not offer a high school program, so feeder options in the broader Peoria area or via other charters or district schools become a relevant consideration. The district brief turned up no recent curriculum, tax, or boundary changes that would affect the school’s near-term direction; the school has received past recognitions such as a Core Knowledge School of Distinction, but those fall outside the lasting-impact criteria used here.

For a family considering this school, the core question is whether the academic environment matches their expectations. The proficiency levels suggest a student body that is achieving well above typical benchmarks, and the top-quartile county standing reinforces that. The missing demographic support data is a gap worth investigating, especially for families whose children may need individualized instruction or language services. The school’s charter status means it operates with its own governance and curriculum choices, and the surrounding community offers a suburban lifestyle with significant ongoing development, from Lake Pleasant’s recreation to the new industrial corridor. The school’s small size relative to the area’s total population and its focused K-8 span give it a contained, high-performing feel that fits families seeking strong elementary and middle school academics before moving on to a separate high school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · District 82%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 78% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 76%

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

Grade 783%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 50 pts above county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 58%

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

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 77% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 692%

School 92% · District 92%

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 798%

School 98% · District 98%

▲ 55 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Grade 895%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 55 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Science

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 66%

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

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

This schoolCandeo Schools Inc. (89758), 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.