The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cactus View Elementary School
Cactus View Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the Paradise Valley Unified District, located in the northern part of Phoenix. The school sits on North Central Avenue, in a residential stretch of the city that is part of a large, sprawling urban center. Phoenix itself is a fast-growing city with a diversified economy built around technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services, and it functions as a major hub for the Mountain West region. The school’s immediate area is a mix of single-family homes and apartment complexes, with a housing market that has seen modest recent softening in both home values and rents.
Cactus View is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. It serves a student body that is diverse in its composition. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by white students, Black students, students of two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native students, Asian students, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as the share of students with disabilities or who are English learners, was not available in the data provided.
On state assessments, the school’s results show a pattern that parents will want to examine closely. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through six were below the midpoint among districts in Maricopa County when taken as a whole. The rates varied by grade, with fourth grade showing the highest performance and sixth grade the lowest. In math, the pattern was similar, with third grade showing the highest proficiency and fifth and sixth grades showing lower rates. Science results for fifth grade were also below the midpoint. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, placed it below the midpoint relative to districts in Maricopa County. A multi-year trend was not available for comparison, as the data provided only a single year of results.
Because Cactus View serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve high school grades, so that metric does not apply. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing was not available in the data provided.
The school is part of the Paradise Valley Unified District. The district brief did not identify any recent parent-relevant changes, such as boundary adjustments, program launches, or policy shifts, that would affect families considering the school.
Housing in the area around the school carries a home value that is above the national benchmark, and rents are similarly above the national average. The local unemployment rate and median household income are in line with national figures. The area is car-oriented, with wide roadways and a grid layout typical of Phoenix’s flat topography. The city continues to grow, and the school sits within a large, established district that serves a broad swath of northern Phoenix.
For a family considering Cactus View, the central question is academic. The school’s proficiency rates in both English language arts and math are below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Maricopa County. A parent may want to ask the school about its approach to instruction and intervention, particularly in the upper elementary grades where the numbers are lower. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. The student body is diverse, and the school is part of a large district in a growing city. The data does not include information on programs such as gifted education, arts, or extracurriculars, so a family would need to contact the school directly to learn about those offerings.
See more original research from School Decision →