Basis Mesa, Mesa AZ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Basis Mesa

BASIS Mesa is a public charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in the fast-growing southeastern stretch of Mesa. It is part of the BASIS Charter Schools network, known for a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum that starts early. The school occupies a single campus near the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport area, a part of the city that has seen substantial new housing construction and commercial development in recent years.

The student body of nearly nine hundred is notably diverse in its composition. Asian and white students each make up about a third of enrollment, with Hispanic students representing roughly a sixth, and smaller shares of students who are two or more races or Black. The data does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor the share of students with disabilities or who are English learners, so a parent will want to ask the school about the range of student support services and how the school serves different learning needs.

Academically, what stands out is a pattern of strong performance on Arizona's state assessments across nearly every grade and subject. On the school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested grades and subjects, BASIS Mesa sits in the top quarter of schools relative to other districts in Maricopa County, a large and competitive region. In English language arts, proficiency rates are consistently high from third through eighth grade. Math results are more varied but still well above typical county levels in most grades, with particularly strong showings in fourth, seventh, and eighth grades. Science results in fifth and eighth grade also place well above average. These numbers align with the BASIS network's reputation for pushing academic expectations early. Two years of data are available, and combined math and ELA proficiency rates show no meaningful change from the first year to the second, suggesting stable performance.

Because the school includes high school grades, a parent might also want to look for graduation rates, AP course offerings, and college matriculation data; none of that information is present in the provided materials. The district-level brief for BASIS Charter Schools Inc. turned up no recent changes or parent-relevant developments to report.

Mesa itself is a sprawling suburban city of substantial size, the third-largest in Arizona. It is overwhelmingly auto-oriented, with a grid street plan and wide arterials. The school's location in the southeast part of the city places it in a growth corridor, near the ASU Polytechnic campus and the Gateway Airport employment zone. Housing values in the immediate area are somewhat above the state median, and rents are also a bit above the national average, reflecting the newer housing stock and demand in this part of the valley. The area is suburban in character, with strip commercial centers and single-family neighborhoods, and daily life requires a car. The school's immediate context is not the older, denser West Mesa or the downtown core but the newer, expanding east side.

For a family considering BASIS Mesa, the core question is whether the school's academic culture and expectations match a child's readiness and motivation. The data shows a school where a large majority of students meet state proficiency benchmarks, and where the peer environment is academically oriented by design. The charter structure means the school operates with some autonomy from the local public school district, and enrollment is by application rather than residential assignment. A parent whose child thrives in a structured, high-expectation environment and who is comfortable with the school's particular demographic profile and suburban location will find a strong academic fit here. A parent looking for a wider range of student supports, or for data on outcomes like graduation and college attendance, will want to press the school for that information directly.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 35 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

512 schools plotted. 33 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 52%

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

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 76% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 61% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 84%

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

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 66% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 88%

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

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 684%

School 84% · District 84%

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

Grade 788%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 80%

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

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 72%

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

This schoolBASIS Charter Schools Inc. (91949), 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.