The reported proficiency rate for Science is 58%.
Original Research by School Decision on Empower College Prep High School
Empower College Prep High School is a charter school in Phoenix serving grades seven through twelve, though its enrollment of roughly high-school-age students is concentrated in grades nine through twelve; the seventh and eighth grades show no enrolled students. The school operates as a regular charter, not a magnet or Title I school, and it belongs to the small Empower College Prep charter district.
Academically, the picture is mixed and requires careful reading because the available state testing data is fragmented. The most recent single-year subject result comes from the 2018-19 science assessment for eighth graders, where a majority of tested students scored proficient or above. That level of performance placed the school in the top quarter of all schools in Maricopa County when measured by a composite proficiency index across tested subjects and grades, though that composite index appears to rely heavily on the older science score. More current data from the 2024-25 school year reports proficiency rates in English language arts and mathematics that are notably lower than that earlier science result: roughly a fifth of students met proficiency benchmarks in each subject. The school does not have reported state testing results for earlier years that would allow a trend comparison, and the graduation rate, which would normally be available for a school serving grade twelve, is missing from the data. A parent considering this school would want to ask directly about current academic performance across all tested subjects and about the four-year graduation rate.
The student body is small and overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a smaller share of Black students and very small numbers of White, Native American, and multiracial students. Data on free or reduced-price meal eligibility, special education classification, and English learner status are all absent. The school’s charter status means it operates independently from the local district and may have its own attendance boundaries or application process.
The school is located in Phoenix, a sprawling, fast-growing urban center with a car-oriented layout and a diversified economy built on technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services. Housing values in the immediate zip code area sit below both the Arizona statewide typical value and the national typical value, and rents have recently edged downward. The parent district, Empower College Prep, has no publicly reported recent changes of lasting impact for families.
Without data on discipline, staffing ratios, course access, or attendance, it is difficult to assess the school’s learning environment beyond the testing snapshot. The school’s relatively strong past science performance suggests areas of academic strength, but the more recent and lower ELA and math proficiency figures raise questions that only a conversation with the school can answer. For families weighing this option, the key unknowns are the graduation rate, current achievement across subjects, and the support systems for a student body that appears to face economic and language-related needs that are not documented in the available records.
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