Asu Preparatory Academy Digital, Tempe AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Asu Preparatory Academy Digital

ASU Preparatory Academy Digital is a full-time virtual charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade, operating out of an office suite near Arizona State University in Tempe. Its enrollment has grown notably in recent years, a sign that its online model with built-in concurrent university credit courses is meeting sustained demand from families seeking a self-paced, personalized alternative to brick-and-mortar schooling. The school is classified as exclusively virtual, which means students learn from home with digital curriculum and remote instruction, not from a classroom building with hallways and bells.

The student body is large for a single school, and its composition reflects a broad cross-section of the region. White students make up about half of the enrollment, Hispanic students account for roughly a third, and Black, Asian, Native American, and multiracial students each represent smaller shares. Data on students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were figures on students with disabilities or English learners, so a family hoping to understand the school's support structure for those populations will need to ask the school directly.

On state assessments for the most recent year, math proficiency was below the midpoint among Maricopa County districts, with rates in the low twenties for most elementary and middle school grades. English language arts results were stronger, with several grade levels scoring in the upper thirties to upper fifties, though these also landed below the midpoint when averaged across all tested grades and subjects. Science proficiency at fifth grade was comparable to the lower math scores, while eighth grade science came in higher. The overall proficiency index places the school below the midpoint relative to other districts in Maricopa County, a large and varied field of nearly four hundred districts. A parent looking at these results will want to weigh them against the fact that the virtual format attracts a self-selecting population; direct comparison to traditional district schools may not capture the same conditions.

The school serves high school grades, but no graduation rate was reported in the data, so a family interested in how many seniors finish on time should verify that with the school or the charter network. Chronic absenteeism data was also missing, and virtual schools tend to treat attendance differently than in-person schools, so a parent may want to clarify how the school defines and tracks engagement.

The locale of Tempe is an inner suburb of Phoenix whose northern half has a fairly dense, urbanized character shaped heavily by Arizona State University's main campus. The Mill Avenue entertainment district, Tempe Town Lake, and the Valley Metro light rail line give the northern part a pedestrian-oriented, college-town feel. Southern Tempe is more auto-oriented with strip malls and office parks. Major employers include Arizona State University, State Farm, and several corporate headquarters such as GoDaddy and First Solar. Housing values and rents in the area have edged down slightly from a year earlier, which may matter to families weighing a move. Tempe's population has grown steadily and it continues to expand as a center of education and commerce, with ongoing development along the lake and in the downtown core.

The district itself is a single-school charter network, meaning this school is the entire district. The consistent enrollment growth and the concurrent enrollment partnership with ASU, which allows high school students to earn university credit, are the most parent-relevant features. No major curriculum overhauls, property-tax shifts, or referendums surfaced in the available information, so the picture here is one of a stable virtual model that is expanding its reach. Families considering this option will want to evaluate whether the flexibility and online delivery match their student's learning style and whether the proficiency results, which sit below the county midpoint, reflect the school's academic trajectory or the particular challenges of measuring virtual schooling with in-person assessment norms.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

73.0%Cohort of 322 students · Class of 2021

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 328%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

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

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 25%

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

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 21%

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 37%

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

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 58%

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

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 37%

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 53%

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolASU Preparatory Academy Digital (522074), 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.