The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Math. The lowest is 16% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Griffith Elementary School
Griffith Elementary School is a regular public school in Phoenix that serves children from preschool through sixth grade as part of the Balsz Elementary District. The school is located in a large, sprawling urban city. Phoenix is a major financial, transportation, and high-technology hub for the region, with an economy centered on manufacturing, services, and tourism. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
The student body at Griffith is diverse, with Hispanic students making up a substantial majority of the enrollment. Smaller shares of students are Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, White, two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Asian. The school is a regular public school and not a charter school, and its Title I status was not reported. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as counts of students with disabilities and English learners, were not available in the information provided.
State testing data for the 2024-25 school year gives a picture of academic performance. In third-grade math, the share of students scoring proficient was reported at a level that is below the midpoint among districts in Maricopa County. Third-grade English language arts results were lower than the math outcome. Fourth-grade math results were also below the midpoint, and fourth-grade English language arts results were suppressed in the data, meaning they were not published. Fifth-grade results for math, English language arts, and science were all suppressed. Because some grade-level results are suppressed, the full picture of schoolwide performance is partially obscured. The multi-year trend data, which shows combined performance across all tested grades, indicates that overall proficiency in English language arts was at a low level, and overall math proficiency was slightly higher but still below the countywide median. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter of districts in Maricopa County.
A parent should note that Griffith is an elementary school only; students moving on to middle and high school will transition to other schools in the district or elsewhere. The district itself did not have publicly reported recent changes or strategic priorities in the search results, so that context is not available to inform a family’s decision. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider.
Housing in the area around the school, based on the ZIP code data, shows home values that are somewhat below the state benchmark for Arizona but near the national benchmark. Rental prices are in a moderate range relative to national incomes. The broader Phoenix area continues to see population growth, which can mean a changing neighborhood context over time. Families looking at Griffith should weigh the school’s elementary-only grade span, its below-average state test results relative to the county, and the limited publicly available information on student support programs and district-level direction. These factors make it a place where a closer look at classroom instruction and school climate would be valuable before enrolling.
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