Tuscano Elementary School, Phoenix AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Tuscano Elementary School

Tuscano Elementary School is a regular public school in the Fowler Elementary District, serving students from prekindergarten through fifth grade. Located in the southwest part of Phoenix, it sits within a large, sprawling urban center that has grown rapidly over decades. The school itself draws from a zip code where housing prices and rents have seen a slight decline recently, and where the typical home value sits a bit below the national median. This is a car-oriented part of a very large city, with wide grid streets and a flat topography.

The school enrolls about five hundred students. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a meaningful share of Black students and small numbers of White, Asian, Native American, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals was not available, so a parent would need to check with the school directly to understand the economic profile of the families served. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was also missing from the available records.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year show that proficiency rates are low. In math, about one in five third graders scored proficient, a similar rate held for fourth graders, and about half of fifth graders met the bar. In English language arts, proficiency rates ranged from roughly one in five third graders to about a third of fifth graders. In fifth-grade science, about one in five students reached proficiency. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among districts in Maricopa County. These are the numbers a parent should look into further with the school, because they point to a student body that, on the whole, is not yet meeting state academic benchmarks. Tuscano is an elementary school, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve older grades, so measures like college readiness or high school outcomes are not applicable here.

The locale brief describes Phoenix as a major financial and transportation hub with a high-technology and manufacturing economy. The city has notable civic anchors like Papago Park, South Mountain, the Phoenix Art Museum, and Chase Field. Growth has been substantial, though the district brief turned up no recent changes or initiatives at the Fowler Elementary District level that would be of immediate interest to a parent.

For a family considering this school, the central takeaway is that academic performance is an area of concern. The student body is diverse and the setting is a large urban district. A parent would want to ask about what interventions, supports, or programs are in place to raise achievement, and whether the school’s approach aligns with their child’s needs. The housing market in this part of Phoenix is comparatively affordable relative to other parts of the metro area, but the academic outcomes suggest that Tuscano may be a better fit for families who are prepared to be actively involved in supplementing instruction or who value other aspects of the school environment over test scores.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 26% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 20% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 25% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 18% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 19% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 12% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

This schoolFowler Elementary District (4273), 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.