Ashton Ranch Middle School, Surprise AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Ashton Ranch Middle School

Ashton Ranch Middle School serves students in grades five through eight in Surprise, Arizona, part of the Dysart Unified School District, which rebranded to Dysart Schools in 2022. Despite a directory listing that includes prekindergarten through eighth grade, enrollment is concentrated entirely in the middle grades, with no students reported for PK through fourth. The school enrolls a diverse student body, with White students making up the largest share and Hispanic students close behind, followed by Black students and smaller groups of Asian, American Indian, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Data on economic disadvantage and special education percentages was not available, leaving a gap for families who weigh those factors.

Academically, the school’s performance on Arizona’s state assessments places it below the midpoint among districts in Maricopa County when overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades is compared. In math, proficiency rates vary by grade, with fifth graders showing the highest rate and seventh graders the lowest. English language arts results are mixed: around one third of fifth graders scored proficient, while nearly half of seventh graders did. Science proficiency, tested in fifth and eighth grades, falls short of a majority for both. Across all subjects and grades, less than half of students met the state’s proficiency standard. A parent considering the school may want to discuss with the administration what academic supports are in place and how the school addresses gaps in learning.

The school sits in Surprise, a fast-growing city northwest of Phoenix that was a small agricultural settlement decades ago and has since exploded into a sprawling suburban community of master-planned neighborhoods, including the large Sun City Grand retirement enclave. The built environment is car-dependent, with limited public transit; one express bus route connects Surprise to Glendale, but a demand-responsive service is being eliminated. Commercial development lines major roads, and the city’s civic and recreational life is anchored by a central campus featuring a stadium, library, parks, and aquatic centers. In 2024 the typical home value in the area was in line with the state average, and rents have been rising moderately. The city’s top employer is the Dysart school district itself, followed by the city government and retail chains.

At the district level, a notable shift occurred in the 2021-2022 school year when Dysart reconfigured multiple schools, separating elementary and middle grade levels and changing feeder patterns. That restructuring has a lasting effect on which campuses children attend and when they transition. Families new to the area should confirm whether Ashton Ranch’s current grade configuration and feeder to high school remain stable.

Ashton Ranch is a regular public school without charter or magnet status. It does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate is reported. The absence of state testing data for younger grades is explained by their not being enrolled. The school’s academic profile is the central piece of evidence here: proficiency levels are below the county median, and the school community may benefit from a close look at how the curriculum and interventions are evolving.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 30% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 33% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 27% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 46% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 50% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 51% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 43% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 42% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 3 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.