The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Papago School
Papago School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Creighton Elementary District, located in Phoenix. The school sits within a large, sprawling urban center that functions as a major financial, communications, and transportation hub for the region. Phoenix’s economy has shifted over time from its agricultural roots to concentrate in high-technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services, and the city has been among the fastest-growing in the nation. The immediate housing market around the school shows home values that are somewhat above the national benchmark, with rents that are moderately below the national average, reflecting a community where homeownership costs are elevated relative to incomes.
The school enrolls a sizable student body for an elementary and middle school combination. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with much smaller shares of Black, White, and American Indian or Alaska Native students, and very small numbers from other racial and ethnic groups. The data does not report how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it specify the share of students with individualized education programs or those classified as English learners. A parent or guardian seeking a fuller picture of the school’s support services and resource allocation may want to ask the school directly about these counts.
On state assessments, the academic results are low. In math, proficiency rates across tested grade levels fall in the teens, with one grade reporting a rate of about a fifth of students meeting the bar. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: the highest reported rate is just over a fifth of students, and other grades show rates in the mid-teens. For science, the school’s testing counts were suppressed, meaning the data was withheld for privacy reasons, and no proficiency rate is available for those grades. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades lands in the bottom quartile when compared with districts across Maricopa County. This is a significant soft spot. A parent considering the school should understand that the vast majority of students are not meeting state proficiency benchmarks in reading and mathematics, and this is a central feature of the academic picture.
There is no multi-year trend data beyond a single reporting year, so it is not possible to see whether performance has been improving, declining, or holding steady over time. Similarly, information about chronic absenteeism and graduation rates is absent; since the school serves only through eighth grade, it does not have a graduation rate, but chronic absenteeism data would be informative for understanding attendance patterns.
No program offerings were provided, so it is unclear whether the school offers any specialized academic tracks, enrichment, or support programs. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as override elections, curriculum shifts, or bond results, so there is no evidence of major recent shifts in the district’s direction or priorities. Publicly reported information about the district was limited to basic profile and financial data.
Papago School is a large urban elementary and middle school serving a predominantly Hispanic student body, where academic proficiency on state tests is low across both math and English language arts. Families considering the school should weigh its role as a neighborhood school in Phoenix against the central challenge that most students are not reaching grade-level benchmarks. Without data on programs, staffing, attendance, or support services, there are significant gaps in what can be known from the available information, and a prospective family would want to visit and ask detailed questions about instruction, intervention, and school climate.
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