Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School, Scottsdale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School

Desert Springs Preparatory Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in Scottsdale, within the Paradise Valley Unified District. It serves children from prekindergarten through sixth grade. The school sits in a large, fast-growing city that stretches from high-end resorts and the Scottsdale Airpark employment center to suburban neighborhoods and vast desert preserves. The housing market in the 85254 zip code is expensive; home values and rents are well above national benchmarks, and carrying a monthly mortgage is significantly more costly than renting.

The student body is a mid-sized enrollment for an elementary school, with a composition that is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic population and smaller shares of Asian, two-or-more-races, and Black students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so a parent cannot assess economic need directly from this profile. Similarly, the percentage of students with an individualized education program and the share of English learners were not reported, leaving gaps in understanding the school's special-population support context.

On state assessments, performance varies by grade and subject with no single pattern. In math, proficiency rates show a range across grades: third grade is in the middle of the band, fourth grade is lower, fifth grade returns to a mid-range level, and sixth grade is a clear strength. In English language arts, the results follow a similar shape, with third and sixth grades posting stronger rates, while fourth and fifth grades are weaker. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a rate on the lower side. Overall, when all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single proficiency index, Desert Springs sits above the midpoint among districts across Maricopa County. A sixth grader at this school is far more likely to be on grade level in reading and math than a fourth grader is, and a parent may want to ask the school about that dip.

Because the school serves only through sixth grade, it has no four-year graduation rate, and there is no chronic absenteeism data reported. Data on discipline, course access, and staffing were not provided, so a parent interested in those areas would need to seek the information directly from the school.

No recent district-level changes with lasting impact were confirmed in publicly available sources, so this profile reflects the school as it stood recently without a known upcoming shift in policy or boundaries.

Desert Springs is not a charter or magnet school, and no Title I designation was reported. Its academic picture is one of uneven grade-level results, with a strong showing in sixth grade that pulls its overall standing above the midpoint of a very large county. The limited student-level economic and special-education data means families should verify with the school whether their child's specific support needs are well matched.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 33% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 56% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 45% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 25% · ▲ 32 pts above district

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

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 60% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 48% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 57% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 42% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolParadise Valley Unified District (4241), 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.