The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 22%.
Original Research by School Decision on William T Machan Elementary School
William T Machan Elementary School, located in the Creighton Elementary District in central Phoenix, serves students from preschool through 8th grade. It is a regular public school with an enrollment that is heavily concentrated among Hispanic students, who make up the vast majority of the student body. The remaining population is a mix of American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and White students, with a small number identifying as two or more races. The school provides a full PK-through-8th-grade pathway, allowing students to remain in the same building from their earliest school years through middle school.
State testing data from the 2024-25 school year offers only a partial picture of academic performance, and the results that are available point to a school where students are largely not reaching the proficient level. For math, proficiency rates in every tested grade were suppressed, meaning they were too low to report publicly, though a multi-year trend shows an overall proficiency rate at a very low single-digit percentage. In English language arts, the data is mixed. Some grade-level results were also suppressed, while reported results for grades 4, 6, and 7 show proficiency rates below a quarter of students. Science results for grades 5 and 8 were also suppressed. The overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, places Machan in the bottom quartile when compared to districts across Maricopa County. A parent looking at these results may want to discuss what academic interventions and supports are in place with the school directly.
The school environment data is thin. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was not available. The district itself, Creighton Elementary District, did not have publicly reported recent changes such as override elections, curriculum shifts, or bond results that could be surfaced. This means a parent will need to ask the school for its current priorities and policies directly. The school’s charter status is not magnet or charter, and its Title I status was not provided.
The housing market in the school’s ZIP code reflects a typical urban-Phoenix pattern. Home values and rents are both below the state average, and both have seen a modest decline in the most recent year on record. The estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is higher than the area’s typical rent, suggesting that renting may be a more immediately affordable option for many households in the neighborhood. The national unemployment rate was at a moderate level during the same period.
Phoenix itself is a large, sprawling urban center. It has a flat, grid-based street system with wide roadways that are car-oriented. The economy is built on services, technology, tourism, and manufacturing, especially in electronics, transportation, and aerospace. It is a fast-growing city, and its downtown includes the state capitol and major venues. The school is part of this city’s fabric, located in a neighborhood that is densely populated and ethnically concentrated.
For a family considering this school, the takeaway is that William T Machan serves a largely Hispanic student community from preschool through 8th grade in a regular public school setting, but the available academic data shows consistently low proficiency rates. The neighborhood is in a large, growing city with a housing market that is slightly more affordable than the state average, though buying a home requires a substantial income relative to the local median. The lack of reported data on school climate, staffing, and discipline, as well as on district-level initiatives, means that a thorough visit and conversation with the school’s administration would be essential to understand the learning environment and support systems beyond the test scores.
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