The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on J B Sutton Elementary School
J B Sutton Elementary School is a regular public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Phoenix, Arizona. It is part of the Isaac Elementary District, a district for which publicly reported searches found no recent major changes or strategic initiatives, so the district context is stable in that sense. The school sits within a large, sprawling urban center that is among the fastest-growing in the nation, with an economy concentrated in high-technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services, and a built environment of wide, car-oriented roadways on a precise grid.
The academic picture at Sutton is one of consistently low performance on state assessments. On the Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, math proficiency rates for third, fourth, and fifth graders were each around the same modest level, and proficiency in English language arts for fourth and fifth graders was similarly low. Fifth-grade science proficiency, from the AzSci test, was also low. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Maricopa County. Third-grade ELA results were suppressed, likely due to small group sizes or reporting thresholds, which is not unusual for a single grade level at a school of this size. A parent looking into this school would want to understand what academic supports are in place, as the test results suggest a large share of students are not meeting state standards.
The student body is very large for an elementary school and overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a very small number of Black students and an even smaller number of White students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, on students with disabilities, and on English learners was not available in the source material. Those gaps are notable because they are typically relevant to the level of support a school provides. The school’s type is “regular school,” meaning it serves a general population, not a specialized or alternative student body.
The surrounding housing market in the school’s zip code shows home values that are below the state median and national median, and rents that are below the national average. Both values and rents have been declining recently, which may reflect broader economic conditions in this part of Phoenix. The city itself continues to grow, but the school’s immediate neighborhood may be experiencing different pressures.
No data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, or staffing was available in the source material, so it is not possible to assess the school environment on those dimensions. Similarly, no program offerings such as gifted, arts, or dual-language were listed, so a family would need to ask the school directly about what is available.
J B Sutton Elementary is a large, neighborhood elementary school in a fast-growing urban center, serving a predominantly Hispanic student body. Its academic performance, as measured by state tests, is well below the county average, and a family considering this school would want to investigate the specific interventions and supports the school offers to help students meet grade-level expectations.
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