The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Science. The lowest is 45% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Countryside Elementary School
Countryside Elementary School serves prekindergarten through fourth grade as part of the Dysart Unified District in Surprise, Arizona. The school sits within a sprawling, rapidly growing suburban city northwest of Phoenix, a place defined by master-planned communities, a major retirement population, and a car-dependent layout where schools are spread across the city rather than clustered in a downtown. Countryside itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving only early grades.
Academically, state testing data from the most recent school year paints a mixed picture. In math, proficiency among third graders was lower than among fourth graders, and the same pattern held in English language arts. Fourth graders posted stronger results in both subjects, with a clear majority meeting the state’s proficiency bar in math and just over half doing so in ELA. Science results are only available from several years earlier, when the school served fourth and eighth graders, and those numbers placed roughly half of students at proficiency. For a school that only goes through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places Countryside slightly above the midpoint among the schools in its county, a broad comparison that includes many schools serving different grade bands and populations. The data covers only one year of testing for the current assessment, so there is no trend line to show whether performance is moving up or down.
The student body is diverse. Just under half of students are white, a substantial share are Hispanic, and smaller but notable numbers of Black, two-or-more-races, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are enrolled. Information on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are classified as English learners was not available in the data. A parent who wants to understand the full support picture at the school may want to pursue those details directly with the school or district.
Countryside operates in a district that has undergone recent changes. In the 2021-22 school year, Dysart reconfigured eight of its schools into separate elementary and middle school campuses, altering feeder patterns and grade configurations. The district also rebranded as Dysart Schools in 2022. These shifts are relevant to families because they affect where children will attend after fourth grade and what transition points to expect. Because the data did not supply specific information about course offerings, programs, or staffing at Countryside, this narrative cannot describe what enrichment or intervention options are available.
The housing context for the surrounding zip code shows home values that are in line with state averages and rents that are modest relative to income, though the recent trend in home values has been declining slightly. The city of Surprise continues to grow and add amenities, including a new aquatics center that opened in 2025, and its largest employer is the Dysart district itself, reflecting the school system’s central role in the community. For a family considering Countryside, the school offers a mid-size early-elementary setting in a district that has purposefully reorganized its grade structure, with academic results that are respectable but have room for growth in the tested subjects. The absence of data on programs, discipline, attendance, and student support services means a thorough evaluation would require a visit and conversation with school staff to fill in what the public records do not show.
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