The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Math. The lowest is 21% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on John F. Long
John F. Long is an elementary school in Phoenix’s Cartwright Elementary District, serving students from preschool through sixth grade. It is a regular public school, not a charter, and sits within one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, a sprawling urban center whose economy has shifted from its agricultural roots to technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services. The school’s immediate context is the city’s 85031 ZIP code, where home values have seen a modest dip over the past year and rents have edged up, placing the area below the state’s typical home value benchmark. The national backdrop of elevated mortgage rates and rising rental costs shapes the housing picture any family would encounter when looking in this part of Phoenix.
The school’s student body is large for an elementary, and the composition is distinctive. A substantial majority of students are Hispanic, with smaller shares of Black, white, Native American, Asian, and multiracial 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. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these support structures, as they often shape how resources are allocated and what services a child might access.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed and shows a pattern that families will want to examine closely. In mathematics, proficiency rates decline steadily from third grade through sixth grade, with the highest rate in third grade and the lowest in sixth grade. In English language arts, the rates are lower across the board, hovering in the low-to-mid range in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Science results for fifth grade are available and show a similarly modest share of students meeting the state’s proficiency standard. When compared to other schools in Maricopa County, John F. Long’s overall proficiency index lands below the midpoint of the cohort. This is a soft spot in the school’s academic profile, and a parent considering the school would want to understand what academic interventions and supports are in place, particularly in the upper elementary grades where the downward trend is most visible.
Because the school only serves through sixth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school’s enrollment spans the tested grades, and the state testing data comes from a recent school year. Multi-year trends are available for two years in both English language arts and math, but the data does not support a clear statement about whether performance is improving or declining over time.
The district itself, Cartwright Elementary, covers the elementary grades for this part of Phoenix. A search for recent district-level changes that a parent would want to know about did not turn up material of lasting impact. That means the district’s situation appears stable on the surface, but families may still want to attend a school board meeting or speak with the principal to get a sense of any upcoming curriculum shifts, budget pressures, or program adjustments that might not show up in a public search.
For a family weighing this school, the main considerations are its large, predominantly Hispanic student body, its location in a fast-growing but economically diverse part of Phoenix, and its academic performance, which sits below the county median and shows a notable decline in math proficiency as students move from third to sixth grade. The school does not appear to have any special magnet or charter status, so it operates as a neighborhood elementary within a standard district structure. A family with a child entering in the early grades might want to ask how the school supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks and whether there are any targeted programs for the upper grades to prevent the drop-off seen in the data. The absence of detailed information on free and reduced-price meal eligibility, special education, and English learner services is a gap worth filling with a direct call to the school office.
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