Verrado Middle School, Buckeye AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Verrado Middle School

Verrado Middle School sits in the master-planned community of Verrado, part of the fast-growing city of Buckeye. Buckeye itself is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, a place that blends a historic agricultural past with a wave of new suburban residential developments. Verrado is one of those communities, planned around a traditional town-center concept with its own retail, parks, and civic spaces. The school is a regular public school serving fifth through eighth grade.

The student body is diverse and reflects the area’s growth. Hispanic students make up a substantial share of the enrollment, and White students account for a slightly smaller but still large portion. There are also smaller numbers of students who are Black, Asian, and of two or more races. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and draws from its surrounding neighborhood within the Litchfield Elementary District.

Academically, Verrado Middle School shows a mixed picture when measured against state proficiency standards. In English language arts, proficiency rates for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders are similar to each other, all in a moderate range. Math scores are notably lower across all three grade levels. Science results for eighth graders are available and fall in between these two subjects, with about two in five students meeting the proficiency bar. A comparison of the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades against other schools in Maricopa County places the school above the midpoint among the county’s districts.

There is no multi-year trend data to show whether performance is improving or declining, as only a single year of data was available. A parent may want to ask the school for more context on math achievement and any supports in place.

The school is part of the Litchfield Elementary District, a district that serves parts of the West Valley. No recent major changes to the district’s programs, boundaries, or leadership were found in publicly available sources. Housing in the area around the school reflects the master-planned nature of Verrado itself. Home values in the zip code are above the median for Arizona and have remained relatively stable, while rents have increased modestly in the recent period.

Student support services such as special education and English learner data were not reported in the available records, so it is not possible to characterize the share of students receiving those services. The same is true for chronic absenteeism and discipline data.

For a family considering Verrado Middle School, the key elements to weigh are the school’s moderate performance in English and science, its math scores that are below those levels, and the setting of a fast-growing, suburban master-planned community within a larger city that is still building out its infrastructure and amenities. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, which may be a consideration for some families. Parents looking for a middle school in this part of the West Valley will want to learn more about how the school addresses math performance and what academic pathways, such as honors courses or electives, are available to students in these grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 38% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 34% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 49% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 53% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 40% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolLitchfield Elementary District (4281), 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.