Marshall Ranch Elementary School, Glendale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Marshall Ranch Elementary School

Marshall Ranch Elementary School sits in the northwestern part of Glendale as a regular public school in the Peoria Unified School District, serving preschool through eighth grade. The school enrolls a student body that is roughly split between white students and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. The surrounding community is a large, auto-oriented suburban city with a mix of residential subdivisions, major retail centers, and entertainment venues including State Farm Stadium. Luke Air Force Base and several school districts are among the top employers in the area.

State testing results from the most recent school year show a mixed picture. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency standards varied across grade levels, with fourth graders reaching just over half proficient, while third, fifth, and sixth graders came in below two-fifths proficient, and seventh and eighth graders landed around two-fifths. In math, proficiency rates ranged from roughly one-quarter of fifth and sixth graders meeting the bar to just under half of fourth graders, with third and eighth graders falling in the middle. Science testing covered fifth and eighth grades, with about one-third of students at each grade level scoring proficient. When compared with other districts across Maricopa County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of that large field.

The school’s grade span means that students move through elementary and middle school in one location, which can provide continuity for families. Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. A parent considering this school will want to understand how the middle school years build toward high school options within Peoria Unified.

Peoria Unified School District operates a stable set of schools across Peoria, Glendale, Youngtown, and a small area of Surprise, with no recent reports of major closures or openings, offering families a degree of predictability. The district covers a broad geographic area, and housing values in the zip code tied to Marshall Ranch place it somewhat above the national median, with rents rising in recent months relative to the prior year. The local housing market shows modest price softening year over year, which may factor into a family’s decision about moving into the attendance area.

The school sits within a city that offers several regional parks, a historic downtown area distinct from the newer sports and entertainment district, and a growing population. Families who want an active outdoor life have options like Thunderbird Conservation Park for hiking and Sahuaro Ranch Park for a historic ranch setting. The built environment is largely oriented toward driving, with walkable pockets concentrated in Historic Downtown Glendale and the Westgate Entertainment District.

For a family evaluating Marshall Ranch, the core academic picture shows uneven results across subjects and grade levels, with some grades performing well above others and overall proficiency trailing the county median. A parent may want to look into how the school supports students in the lower-performing grades and what academic acceleration or intervention options exist for middle schoolers preparing for high school coursework. The school’s size is moderate for its PK-8 span, and the stable district context means that program offerings and boundaries are unlikely to shift suddenly. The mix of a large suburban setting, a diverse student body, and a district that covers multiple communities gives families a range of neighborhood contexts to consider within the same school system.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 27% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 47% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 21% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 33% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 34% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 52% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 40% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 43% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 25% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolPeoria Unified School District (4237), 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.