Dove Mountain K-8, Marana AZ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dove Mountain K-8

Dove Mountain K-8 is a regular public school in the Marana Unified School District, serving students from preschool through eighth grade. The school is located in the Dove Mountain area of Marana, a portion of the town known for its resort and golf communities. Marana itself is a fast-growing community in the Sonoran Desert, a sprawling, car-dependent town that has expanded aggressively through annexation along the Interstate 10 corridor, blending residential subdivisions, big-box retail, and remnants of its farming past. The district, which operates a number of schools spread across this large geographic area, offers district-wide free full-day kindergarten and an online distance learning option.

The school’s enrollment is large for a K-8 campus. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of students who identify as Asian, Black, or two or more races. Data on the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and on students with disabilities or English learner classifications was not reported in the available data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about these supports.

On state assessments, Dove Mountain K-8’s performance positions it well above the midpoint among schools in Pima County, falling in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The picture varies by grade and subject, and a parent will want to look more closely at the pattern. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through eight are mostly solid, with a particularly strong showing in seventh grade, where a large majority of students met the standard. In math, the school shows a clear split: grades three through five and grade seven all see a majority of students proficient, while grades six and eight show a different picture, with less than half of students reaching proficiency in each. This drop-off in middle school math is a soft spot, and a family with a student entering sixth or eighth grade may want to explore what interventions or supports the school offers in those years. Science results, available for grades five and eight, show a slight majority of students proficient in each, a consistent but not dominant performance.

Because Dove Mountain K-8 serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is a function of the school’s grade band, not a missing measure. The school’s overall proficiency index was calculated from a single year's data, so no multi-year trend is available to assess whether performance is improving or declining.

The housing market in the area served by the school reflects the Dove Mountain resort-and-golf community context. Home values are above the state median, and rents are at a level that, combined with prevailing mortgage rates, prices many local households out of buying. This is an expensive pocket within Pima County.

For families weighing this school, the core academic story is one of generally strong elementary and early middle school outcomes, with a notable soft spot in middle school math that warrants a conversation with the school. The community context is a fast-growing, car-dependent town with a resort-oriented enclave and a district that offers some program flexibility through full-day kindergarten and online learning. The school’s large enrollment and K-8 configuration mean students transition between elementary and middle school grades within the same building, which some families prefer and others may want to investigate further for how the school manages the developmental shift.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 44% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 43% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 46% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 33% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 28% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 27% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 37% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 41% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 44% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 776%

School 76% · District 43% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 40% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 43% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 31% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolMarana Unified District (4404), 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.