Luke Elementary School, Glendale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Luke Elementary School

Luke Elementary School is a regular public school in Glendale, serving students from preschool through eighth grade. It operates within the Dysart Unified District, a system that recently underwent a district-wide grade reconfiguration, changing which campuses serve which levels, and rebranded as Dysart Schools. For families considering this school, that restructuring means feeder patterns and transition points between elementary and middle school have shifted in recent years, so it is worth confirming the current pathway for any given home address.

The school sits in western Glendale, a large suburban city that borders Phoenix and is shaped by Luke Air Force Base, the Westgate Entertainment District, major retail, and industrial employers like Honeywell Aerospace. Glendale’s built environment is predominantly auto-oriented, with walkable pockets in historic downtown and the sports-entertainment district. Housing values in the area are near the state benchmark, and the rental market is somewhat tight compared to incomes, which matters for families balancing school quality with cost of living.

Academically, Luke Elementary’s state assessment results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through seven cluster in the low-to-mid forties percent, while eighth grade reaches a notably higher level. Math proficiency varies more sharply by grade: the upper elementary grades show stronger results, with fifth grade standing out, while middle school grades—particularly sixth and seventh—are weaker, with rates that a parent may want to look into further with the school. Science proficiency is consistent at the fifth- and eighth-grade levels. The school’s overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint when compared against the many other districts in Maricopa County, a broad field that includes both higher- and lower-performing systems.

Enrollment is moderate and spans the full PK-8 grade band. The student body is diverse: the largest group is Hispanic, followed by white students, and there are meaningful shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, as well as on students with disabilities and English learners, is missing, so that dimension of the school’s support context is not available from the provided records. Similarly, information on discipline, staffing ratios, and chronic absenteeism was not reported.

The school’s location near Luke Air Force Base may be relevant for military-connected families, though no specific programs or partnerships for that population are documented here. The district’s rebranding and reconfiguration suggest an administration that is actively shaping its identity and structure, which could mean continued adjustments in the coming years.

For a parent or guardian, Luke Elementary offers a full PK-8 pathway in a single building—no separate middle school transition for the elementary years—set within a large, suburban city with a strong employment base and major civic amenities. The academic data points to inconsistent math performance as the clearest area of caution, especially in the middle grades, while ELA results are more stable and the overall standing is competitive within the county. A family considering this school would likely want to explore how the school addresses math instruction and support for older students, and to confirm the specific boundaries and feeder arrangements given the district’s recent changes.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 30% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 30% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 33% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 27% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 37% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 41% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 40% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 33% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 46% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 51% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 43% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolDysart Unified District (4243), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.