Glenn L. Downs Social Sciences Academy, Phoenix AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Glenn L. Downs Social Sciences Academy

Glenn L. Downs Social Sciences Academy is a regular public school serving preschool through eighth grade within the Cartwright Elementary District in Phoenix. It is a neighborhood school in a large, sprawling urban city that is among the fastest-growing in the nation, with an economy built on services, technology, tourism, and manufacturing and a car-oriented grid layout. The school’s enrollment is substantial for a PK–8 campus, and its student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic. State testing data was available for the most recent school year, but a parent should note that results for several grade levels were suppressed, meaning the number of tested students in those grades did not meet the minimum threshold for public reporting. Where results were reported, the picture is clear: proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science were low. In math, about one in five students scored proficient in third grade, and a similar share in fifth grade. In ELA, proficiency rates ranged from the low twenties in fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth grades up to roughly one in three in seventh grade. Science proficiency was reported only for eighth grade, where about one in seven students met the mark. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades placed it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Maricopa County. A parent examining these results may want to ask the school directly about its academic support strategies, especially because the data does not include information on the share of students with disabilities or those learning English, two factors that often shape a school’s test performance. No graduation rate is reported, as the school ends at eighth grade. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available for this profile. The school’s name signals a focus on social sciences, but the data provided does not describe any specific program offerings, electives, or extracurriculars; the grade band suggests a standard elementary and middle school curriculum. The district brief turned up no recent changes or initiatives of note, and the locale brief paints Phoenix as a fast-growing, car-dependent city with a strong economic base but a very large footprint, meaning that school location and commute patterns may vary considerably even within the same ZIP code. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code have seen a modest year-over-year decline, while rents have risen slightly, typical of many parts of the metro area. For families weighing this school, the key takeaway is an urban school with a large, predominantly Hispanic enrollment and academic attainment that lags behind most peers in the county. A parent would be wise to visit, speak with staff about how the school addresses literacy and math foundations, and consider what additional resources the district may offer to support student growth through the middle grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 24% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

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

English language arts

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 27% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

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

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 24% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 24% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 16% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolCartwright Elementary District (4282), 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.