The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Math. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Amberlea Elementary School
Amberlea Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade in the Pendergast Elementary District, located in the western portion of Phoenix. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. The school sits within a large, sprawling urban center that has transformed from its agricultural roots into a major hub for services, technology, manufacturing, and tourism.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, making up the large majority of enrollment, with smaller shares of Black, white, Asian, and multiracial students. The school draws from a surrounding area where home values have seen a modest decline and rents have edged upward, a pattern that families considering the neighborhood will want to weigh against the broader Phoenix housing market, which remains competitive in a fast-growing city.
Academically, the data tells a constrained story. State testing results for the 2024-25 school year are largely suppressed for most grade levels and subjects, meaning the state did not report proficiency rates for those groups. This is a significant gap for a parent trying to gauge the school's academic standing. The only reported figure is for seventh-grade math, where about three out of ten students met proficiency, and for seventh- and eighth-grade English language arts, where approximately one-third of seventh graders and one-quarter of eighth graders met the bar. In eighth-grade science, roughly one in five students were proficient. When combined across all tested subjects and grades, the overall proficiency index places Amberlea below the midpoint relative to other districts in Maricopa County. A parent may want to ask the school directly for more granular classroom-level information given the limited public assessment picture.
Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no four-year graduation rate to report. That measure simply does not apply here. Similarly, no data was available on chronic absenteeism or discipline.
The directory confirms the school is a regular public school, and no information was published about course access, staffing ratios, or Title I status. The district itself, Pendergast Elementary District, appears to have no publicly reported recent changes or strategic initiatives that would shape a family's decision.
Phoenix as a whole is among the fastest-growing large cities in the country, with an economy built around high-technology, manufacturing, and services. The city's wide grid streets and car-oriented design mean that getting to Amberlea will almost certainly require driving. The immediate area around the school at 85th Avenue and Virginia Avenue is a residential stretch of the city, and families considering this school should factor in commute patterns across the metro area.
For a parent evaluating Amberlea, the core takeaway is that there is very little public academic data to work with. The available testing results suggest that overall performance sits below the middle of the pack in a very large county. The school serves a wide grade span from pre-K through eighth grade, which can offer continuity for families who want their children in one building for many years. However, the absence of reported proficiency rates for most grades, combined with no information on programs, staffing, or discipline, makes this a school where a visit and direct conversation with the principal would be essential before forming a judgment.
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