Great Hearts Academies - Maryvale Prep, Phoenix AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Great Hearts Academies - Maryvale Prep

Great Hearts Academies - Maryvale Prep is a charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade on a single campus in west Phoenix, part of the Maryvale Preparatory Academy district, which is a single-school charter district. The school sits within Maricopa County, a vast and fast-growing metropolitan region anchored by the city of Phoenix, a large, sprawling urban center whose economy has shifted from its agricultural roots to technology, manufacturing, and services. Housing values in the immediate area are below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents have been rising, which matters for families weighing the cost of living against school choice.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, making up the large majority of enrollment, with smaller shares of White, Black, Asian, and multiracial students. The school draws from the surrounding Maryvale neighborhood, a part of Phoenix with a substantial share of families who qualify for economic support, though precise free-and-reduced-price lunch data was not reported. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was also absent from the available records, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

Academically, the school’s state assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show a pattern that a parent should examine closely. In both math and English language arts, proficiency rates across tested grades generally fell below the midpoint for districts in Maricopa County, based on a combined proficiency index. In elementary grades (three through five), math proficiency was in a modest range, while English language arts in those same grades was slightly weaker. Middle school grades (six through eight) showed a dip in math proficiency, particularly in sixth and eighth grades, while English language arts in seventh grade was the strongest subject area across the school. Science results for fifth grade were similar in range, while eighth-grade science data was suppressed. Because the school serves only one year of tested data in the available records, there is no trend to compare year over year.

The school offers a full K-12 pathway under the Great Hearts network, a well-known charter network in Arizona that emphasizes a classical liberal arts curriculum. This is a distinct academic approach, with an emphasis on Socratic discussion and a core of literature, history, and mathematics. Families who value that pedagogical model will find it here, but the assessment results indicate that student performance on state tests is not yet aligning with that curriculum’s ambitions across most grade levels and subjects. Because the school is a single-site charter, there is no traditional school district with multiple feeder schools; enrollment is by lottery, and the school’s size is moderate for a K-12 campus, with enrollment tapering noticeably from the elementary grades through high school. The high school has a small senior class, and no graduation rate was available in the data, which may reflect the small numbers or a reporting gap.

The school’s governance as a charter means it operates independently of the local school district, with its own board and enrollment policies. The district brief found no publicly reported major changes or strategic shifts in recent years. For a family considering this school, the academic performance data is the central point to investigate further, especially in math and early literacy. The classical approach may appeal to parents seeking an alternative to traditional district offerings, but the test results suggest that the school is still working to translate that model into strong measured outcomes. A parent would want to ask about specific interventions, tutoring, or curriculum adjustments, particularly in the middle school years where proficiency dipped most. The neighborhood context is a working-class area of Phoenix with affordable housing relative to the region, and the school’s location on West Camelback Road is accessible by car in a city built around wide roadways.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 36% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 14% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

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

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 23% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

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

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

This schoolMaryvale Preparatory Academy (90861), 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.