The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on John M Andersen Jr High School
John M Andersen Jr High School serves grades six through eight in Chandler, a large Phoenix suburb that blends residential neighborhoods with a significant concentration of technology and semiconductor employers. The school is part of the Chandler Unified School District, one of the area’s major employers alongside Intel and Wells Fargo. Chandler itself is a car-oriented city divided by freeway corridors, with a historic downtown that is small compared to the broader suburban expanse. The housing market in the zip code that includes the school carries a value well above the national median, and rents are also elevated relative to the rest of the country, meaning families moving into the attendance area should expect a relatively high cost of housing.
The school’s enrollment is distributed unevenly across the three middle school grades, with a notably smaller sixth-grade class and larger seventh and eighth grade cohorts. The student body is highly diverse. A majority of students identify as Hispanic, with the next largest groups being white students and Black students, followed by smaller shares of students who are Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. 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.
On state assessments, the proficiency rates at Andersen are low relative to the median of districts across Maricopa County, placing the school in the bottom quartile among that large comparison set. In English language arts, proficiency rates were in the mid-twenties for sixth and eighth graders and just over thirty percent for seventh graders. In math, the rates were markedly lower: fourteen percent of seventh graders and eight percent of eighth graders scored proficient. Sixth-grade math results were suppressed and not reported. In eighth-grade science, just under one in five students met the proficiency benchmark. These results suggest that the academic challenge at Andersen, as measured by state standards, is considerable, and a family looking at this school would want to learn about the specific supports in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level expectations.
Because Andersen is a middle school, it does not have a graduation rate to report. No data on chronic absenteeism was available. Information about course access, such as whether the school offers advanced or honors classes, was not provided, nor were details about discipline or staffing ratios. A parent considering the school may wish to ask directly about program offerings, class sizes, and any intervention or enrichment structures.
The district brief did not turn up any recent parent-relevant changes or initiatives at the district level that have been publicly reported in a substantive way, so there is no recent district news to place the school in a larger context of shifts or reforms.
In sum, John M Andersen Jr High School is a diverse, regular public middle school in a high-cost suburban area of a growing tech hub. Its state test results show that most students are not scoring at the proficient level, especially in math, and the school’s overall proficiency index ranks well below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Maricopa County. Families evaluating this school should look into what academic supports and enrichment opportunities the school offers, as the assessment data points to a student body where a large share is still working toward grade-level standards.
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