Jefferson Elementary School, Mesa AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elementary School

Jefferson Elementary School sits in the Mesa Unified District, serving students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public school. The school is part of Mesa, a large, sprawling suburban city east of Phoenix that has grown rapidly since World War II, with extensive single-family residential neighborhoods, strip commercial corridors, aerospace and manufacturing clusters, and a modest downtown core.

The student body reflects the broader demographics of this part of Mesa. The majority of students are of Hispanic background, with a smaller share of white students and much smaller shares identifying as Black, two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.

On the most recent state assessments across available grades, Jefferson Elementary’s proficiency rates are below the midpoint of districts in Maricopa County. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in the county. For a parent considering this school, the numbers suggest that academic performance is a soft spot, and they may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place.

The pattern of scores is not uniform across grades or subjects. In math, the range of proficiency varies notably by grade level, with one grade showing a larger share of students meeting the benchmark while another grade shows a much smaller share. In English language arts, performance is broadly modest, with all tested grades falling in a narrow band. Science results for the one grade tested also show limited proficiency. The data provide only a single year of proficiency results, so there is no multi-year trend to indicate whether performance is improving or declining.

The school serves a pre-K-through-sixth grade population, so there is no high school graduation rate to report. This is simply a function of the grade band. The school does not serve high school grades, which also means students will move on to a middle or junior high school within the district after sixth grade.

The district brief did not surface recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, program launches, or leadership transitions, so there is little to note at the district level that would directly affect a family considering Jefferson Elementary.

Housing in the area, based on the most recent data, is more affordable than the state average for a typical home. Rents are also below the national benchmark. The broader economic context includes a national unemployment rate that has been stable, and median household income that has edged up over time.

For a family weighing Jefferson Elementary, what emerges is a school in a very large suburban district, in a fast-growing city, with a student population that is predominantly Hispanic. The academic picture from state testing is modest, with proficiency rates that are lower than many of its peers in the county. A parent may want to investigate what academic supports, intervention programs, or enrichment opportunities the school offers, particularly to understand how the school addresses the gaps in tested performance. The school’s pre-K program is also worth noting for families with early learners. The surrounding area is auto-oriented, with daily life depending on driving, though downtown Mesa offers a more walkable cultural core. Growth in the city has been strong and eastward, so families moving into newer subdivisions farther east may need to factor in commute times to this school, as it is located in a more established part of the city.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 19% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 24% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 15% · ▲ 36 pts above district

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

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 13% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 17% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 19% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 43% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 33% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

This schoolMesa Unified District (4235), 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.