Thompson Ranch Elementary, El Mirage AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Thompson Ranch Elementary

Thompson Ranch Elementary is a regular public school in the Dysart Unified School District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school is located in El Mirage, a community that grew out of an agricultural past into a diverse urban city in the northwest Phoenix metropolitan area. The area is largely car-dependent, with single-family subdivisions, strip commercial development along Grand Avenue, and a strong industrial presence anchored by a foreign trade zone commerce park. Civic life centers around parks, a YMCA recreation facility, and annual events like Founders Day rather than a traditional downtown. Housing in the area is moderately priced within the Phoenix context, though values have seen a slight recent decline, and rental costs follow a similar pattern.

The student body is moderate in size for a school covering this grade span. The school’s population is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and a smaller but notable White presence, along with smaller shares from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status were not available in the source materials, so families should follow up directly with the school to understand the full support landscape.

Academically, state test results from the most recent school year show that the school’s overall proficiency across math, reading, and science sits in the bottom quarter when compared with other schools in Maricopa County. Proficiency rates vary by grade and subject, with some grades reaching about a third of students meeting the bar in reading, while other grades and subjects show lower rates. The data covers only one year, so no trend direction is available. These results are a starting point for families to ask what academic interventions, enrichment, or support programs the school offers and how it addresses gaps.

Thompson Ranch Elementary serves students through eighth grade but does not include high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline were provided. The school is not a charter or magnet, and information on Title I status was not available. A parent may want to inquire directly about those designations and what programming they bring.

The district context matters here. Dysart Unified underwent a significant reconfiguration beginning in the 2021-22 school year, turning eight existing schools into separate middle and elementary campuses and changing feeder patterns across the district. That restructuring affects which schools a child moves through and where transitions happen. The district also rebranded to Dysart Schools in 2022, a signal of a broader strategic shift. Families moving into the area or considering this school should verify the current grade configuration and feeder path for Thompson Ranch, as the district’s changes may still be settling.

El Mirage itself is a growing community, with steady population increase and an aggressive push to attract commercial and industrial development. The presence of Luke Air Force Base nearby is a major economic anchor, and the city’s industrial park continues to expand. For families, this means the neighborhood around the school is one of ongoing development, not a static suburban setting. The housing stock largely consists of single-family homes, and the commute is oriented around Grand Avenue and Loop 303.

For a parent evaluating Thompson Ranch Elementary, the picture is one of a school serving a diverse, working- and middle-class community, with academic performance that is lower than many peers in the county. The school is not a high academic outlier, but it operates within a district that has made deliberate structural changes. A parent’s next step would be to visit, understand the specific programs for students who need extra support, and learn how the school approaches instruction in the core subjects where proficiency is soft. The surrounding community offers modest housing costs relative to the broader Phoenix area and a growing local economy, but limited pedestrian amenities and a car-dependent layout are part of the trade-off.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 46% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 30% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 37% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 41% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 33% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 46% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 50% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 51% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 43% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 42% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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