The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in Science. The lowest is 20% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Joe Carlson Elementary School
Joe Carlson Elementary School is a regular public school in Douglas, Arizona, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of the Douglas Unified District, the public school system for this border community. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and state testing data is available only for the grades that are assessed.
The student body is heavily concentrated in a single demographic group, a characteristic a family may want to consider according to their own preferences. Nearly all students are Hispanic, with a very small number of white students and even fewer Black or multiracial students enrolled.
On state assessments, the school’s academic proficiency rates are low. In third grade math, about a quarter of students scored at the proficient level or above. In fifth grade math, that figure dropped to roughly a sixth of students. Reading results followed a similar pattern. In fourth grade reading, roughly a fifth of students met the proficiency bar, and in fifth grade reading, the share was slightly lower, at about a sixth. Science results, which are assessed in fifth grade, showed roughly a fifth of students scoring proficient. Some grade-level results for math and reading were suppressed by the state, meaning the data was not reported, likely due to small group sizes that could compromise student privacy. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile among districts in Cochise County. A parent may want to discuss academic support and intervention strategies directly with the school to understand what is in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
The school does not report free or reduced-price lunch data, nor does it provide figures on students with disabilities or English learners, so it is not possible to describe the economic or special-education makeup of the student body from the available information.
Douglas itself is a small border city that sits directly across from Agua Prieta, Mexico. Its origins as a copper smelter town for the mines in Bisbee are long behind it, and the smelters closed decades ago. Today the local economy is built around border-crossing and customs operations, healthcare, retail, agriculture, and public services. The city has experienced population decline in recent years, which contrasts with growth patterns seen in other parts of Arizona. A search for recent changes within the Douglas Unified District turned up little of lasting impact, so the district’s strategic direction and any recent programmatic shifts are not described here.
For a family considering Joe Carlson Elementary, the key facts are straightforward. The school offers a traditional pre-K through sixth grade pathway in a district that serves a small, shrinking border city. Its state test results are well below the county average, and the student population is nearly entirely Hispanic. The community is affordable, with modest housing costs relative to state and national benchmarks, but the local economy offers limited employment opportunities beyond border services, public sector jobs, and agriculture. A parent would benefit from a direct conversation with the school about academic interventions, enrichment offerings, and how the school supports students who are below grade level.
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