The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Math. The lowest is 31% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School
Rancho Santa Fe Elementary School is a regular public school in Avondale, part of the Litchfield Elementary District, serving children from prekindergarten through sixth grade. Avondale itself is a fast-growing Phoenix suburb that has moved from a farming community into a major bedroom city, with Interstate 10 cutting across its northern edge and an Old Town district along Western Avenue that retains some historic character. The city is growing quickly, with new subdivisions and commercial development continuing to reshape the landscape, and major employers include Amazon, the community college district, and the city government itself. Housing in the area that feeds into the school is priced around the middle for the Phoenix metro area, with rents that are moderate relative to local incomes, making it an accessible market for many working families.
The student body is diverse and predominantly Hispanic, with white students as the next largest group, followed by Black students and smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, as well as the share of students with disabilities or those learning English, was not available in the records used here, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports. The school does not appear to be a Title I school, though that status was not explicitly confirmed in the data.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Rancho Santa Fe’s results were mixed and overall fell below the midpoint among elementary schools in Maricopa County. In mathematics, proficiency rates across grades three, four, and five clustered in the range just under half of students meeting the bar. In English language arts, results were lower, with third grade showing the softest performance and fourth grade a bit stronger. Fifth-grade science proficiency was also around where the school’s ELA results landed. Only one year of testing data was available for this profile, so it is not possible to gauge whether performance is trending up or down; this single snapshot suggests there is room for improvement, and a family moving into the area may want to discuss how the school approaches intervention and enrichment.
Because Rancho Santa Fe serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available. The district brief for Litchfield Elementary District turned up little in the way of recent changes or strategic priorities that parents might want to track, so that dimension is absent from this account.
For a family considering this school, what stands out is its location in a rapidly expanding suburb, a diverse student population, and academic results that are modest relative to other schools across Maricopa County. The school is not a charter or magnet; it is a neighborhood elementary school serving a broad cross-section of Avondale families. The absence of key data points such as poverty rates and special education counts means that some of the usual context for understanding the school’s challenges and supports is missing. A parent evaluating Rancho Santa Fe would be well served by visiting the campus, talking to teachers and the principal, and asking directly about how the school supports students who are behind grade level, as well as how it challenges those who are ahead. The broader community offers a range of parks, library services, and community events, and the school’s setting within a growing city means there is ample residential development nearby, though the built environment is largely auto-oriented.
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