Academy Del Sol - Star Valley, Tucson AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Academy Del Sol - Star Valley

Academy Del Sol – Star Valley is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, located on the far west side of Tucson in Pima County. The school operates under Academy Del Sol Inc., a small charter organization. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller number of white students, a still smaller number of Black students, and a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. There are no Asian or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students enrolled. The school appears to be large enough to run separate classrooms at every grade level from kindergarten through eighth grade. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available.

On the most recent state assessments, which Arizona administers as AASA for English language arts and math and AzSci for science, Academy Del Sol – Star Valley’s results show a pattern. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above falls below the midpoint among districts in Pima County. The proficiency rates vary by grade: fourth grade and eighth grade recorded higher rates of proficiency than fifth and seventh grade, with a broad range across the tested grades. In math, the rates are lower still, with a wide gap across grades. Fifth grade had the highest math proficiency rate, while eighth grade had the lowest. The third-grade English language arts result was suppressed and not reported, which may be due to a small tested group. In science, results are available for fifth and eighth grades. The proficiency rates are below the national and state benchmarks typical for the county. The overall proficiency index for the school across all tested subjects and grades places it below the midpoint among the county's districts.

A parent considering this school will want to look into what academic supports are in place. The data show a school where a majority of students across most grades are not reaching proficiency in reading or math. The trajectory by grade does not show a clear upward trend; the school’s multi-year data, covering only the most recent year, does not provide a trend line. In English language arts across all grades, the proficiency rate sits at roughly a third of students. In math, it is closer to a quarter. These are soft spots that a family should ask about directly.

Because it is a charter school, Academy Del Sol – Star Valley operates outside the traditional district structure, meaning parents choose to enroll rather than being assigned by residence. The school’s west-side Tucson location, in the area around West Valencia Road and South Kinney Road, is a suburban part of the city. Housing in that ZIP code is priced a good deal lower than both the national and Arizona state typical home values, and rents are below the national benchmark as well. A family moving into the area would find housing more attainable than in many other parts of Tucson. There is no publicly reported information about recent changes at the district level that would affect parents, and the school’s own program offerings—such as whether it offers art, music, athletics, or other enrichment—are not provided in the available data.

The school is a regular school, not an alternative or special-purpose school, so the state testing results are the standard measure. What they show is a school where academic attainment is lower than many other schools in Pima County. This is not a school that posts high proficiency rates, and a parent should expect that a significant portion of each grade is working below grade level. Whether the school provides intensive intervention, small-group instruction, or other supports to close those gaps is something the data do not answer, and a family touring or calling would want to ask.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 23% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 32% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 42% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 23% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 16% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 25% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 35% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 38% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolAcademy Del Sol Inc. (90199), 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.