The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 52% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Power Ranch Elementary
Power Ranch Elementary serves students in prekindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Higley Unified School District, located in the southeastern part of Gilbert, Arizona. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits in a fast-growing suburban corridor of the Phoenix metro area. Gilbert has transformed from a farming community into one of the nation’s fastest-growing municipalities over recent decades, and the area around Power Ranch reflects that master-planned suburban texture: single-family housing subdivisions, retail centers, wide arterial roads. Students live in a car-dependent environment, though the town’s Heritage District offers some pedestrian-oriented amenities.
Academically, Power Ranch performs solidly relative to other schools in Maricopa County. Across the tested subjects of math, English language arts, and science in grades three through six, the school’s overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts within the county. In the most recent state assessments, a majority of students in grades three and up met proficiency in ELA, with rates that reached roughly three-fifths in some grade levels. Math proficiency was somewhat lower, hovering around half of students reaching the bar across grades three through six. Science, tested in grade five, showed about half of students proficient. These results come from a single year of testing, so no trend can be meaningfully described. For a parent, this suggests a school that is performing a bit above the typical public school in the region, though there is room for growth, particularly in mathematics. A parent may want to ask the school about specific supports for students not yet at proficiency.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of Black, Asian, multiracial, and Native American students. The enrollment is moderate for a school serving prekindergarten through grade eight. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, students with disabilities, and English learners were not available in the profile, so a family cannot draw conclusions about the school’s economic or linguistic diversity from this report. That information would need to come directly from the school or district.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Likewise, no chronic absenteeism data were provided. Course access and staffing details were also absent from the available information, leaving gaps that a parent may want to investigate by visiting the school’s website or contacting its office.
Housing in the area is costly. Home values in the zip code covering Power Ranch are well above the national median, and rents are similarly elevated. This reflects Gilbert’s overall housing market, which has seen rapid price appreciation over the past two decades, though recent months show a slight cooling. The town continues to grow, but at a slower pace than its peak. For a family considering moving to the Power Ranch attendance zone, the housing costs are a real factor; the community is largely upper-middle-income suburban, with local employment anchored by school districts, healthcare systems, and defense and professional services firms.
Power Ranch Elementary fits a family looking for a regular public school in a stable, growing suburban area with academic results that are above the typical county district. The lack of published data on poverty, special education, and discipline makes it harder to assess the full student support picture. Families with children who need targeted services or who are evaluating the school’s approach to equity may need to probe further. For those drawn to a mid-sized elementary-through-middle school in a master-planned part of Gilbert, this is a reasonable option within a highly rated district.
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