Buckeye Elementary School, Buckeye AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Buckeye Elementary School

Buckeye Elementary School is a regular public school serving prekindergarten through eighth grade in the city of Buckeye, Arizona. The school is part of the Buckeye Elementary District, and it sits in a community that has transformed from an agricultural town into one of the fastest-growing places in the country. Master-planned communities such as Verrado, Sundance, and Tartesso have reshaped the area around the historic downtown, and the city continues to add housing and industrial employers like a battery cell manufacturer and distribution centers. That growth context matters for families considering this school: the district recently opened John S. McCain III Elementary, a new K-8 school, which may ease crowding or shift attendance boundaries.

The student body is large for a PK-8 campus and is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of White students and a handful of Black, Native American, and Asian students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are classified as English learners was not available in the sources reviewed. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these support needs, as they often shape classroom resources.

Academically, Buckeye Elementary’s state test results place the school in the bottom quarter of all schools in Maricopa County, based on a combined proficiency index. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from the low teens to around a third across grades three through eight, with sixth grade the strongest and third grade the weakest. Math proficiency was similarly low, with the highest reported grade reaching about a fifth of students proficient, and the lowest around one in eight. Science results for fifth and eighth graders show roughly a fifth of students meeting the bar. Results for seventh and eighth grade math were suppressed in the source data, likely due to small group sizes that could compromise student privacy—a parent may wish to follow up with the school for those specific figures. Because the school ends at eighth grade, no graduation rate applies.

No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing, so it is not possible to speak to the school climate from the data provided. The school’s website was not included in the source materials, and the district’s broader academic trends were limited to a single year, offering no clear trajectory.

For a family evaluating Buckeye Elementary, the picture is one of a large neighborhood school in a fast-growing Sun Belt city where academic proficiency is well below the county average. The student population is heavily Hispanic, which reflects the broader community. The area’s rapid development means new schools are opening, and housing values have seen modest movement. Families who prioritize strong test scores may find the results here a concern and may want to investigate what academic interventions or enrichment programs are available, or compare outcomes at other elementary schools in the district or nearby charters.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 33% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 34% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 21% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 21% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 22% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 33% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 26% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 30% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 31% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 32% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 26% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 23% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

This schoolBuckeye Elementary District (4269), 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.