The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Desert Palms Elementary School
Desert Palms Elementary School is a public school in the Peoria Unified School District, located in Glendale, Arizona, and serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school is one of roughly four dozen schools in a district that spans Peoria, Glendale, Youngtown, and a small part of Surprise, a set of communities within the large and fast-growing Phoenix metropolitan area.
The school building sits in a part of Glendale that is largely residential and auto-oriented, consistent with much of the surrounding suburban landscape. Glendale itself is a large city with a mix of neighborhoods, a historic downtown, and major entertainment venues like State Farm Stadium and Desert Diamond Arena. The city's population has grown steadily in recent years, and the district footprint has remained stable, with no recent school closures or openings reported, so families here can expect continuity of attendance zones.
Desert Palms is a regular elementary school, not a charter or magnet, and it enrolls a student body of a modest size for a pre-K-through-8 campus. The student population is diverse. The largest group is Hispanic students, followed by a substantial share of white students, and smaller numbers of Black, Asian, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. The student body is primarily composed of these ethnic and racial groups, and a parent looking at the school should know the proportions as a matter of preference, not judgment. Data on the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals was not available, so it is not possible to determine the school's poverty rate from the information provided.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed, with a pattern that a parent may want to investigate further with the school. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades fell below the midpoint compared to other schools in the districts of Maricopa County. For specific grades, math proficiency was reported at a lower rate for third grade and for eighth grade, while other grade-level math results were suppressed and not reported. In English language arts, proficiency rates were reported for several grades, with fourth grade and eighth grade showing higher rates than fifth and sixth grades. Seventh-grade ELA results were also suppressed. In science, eighth-grade students showed a proficiency rate that was lower than might be hoped. Because several grade-level results were suppressed, it is not possible to assemble a complete picture of how every cohort performed. The school serves pre-K and kindergarten through eighth grade, so there is no high school graduation rate to consider.
The school operates within a larger district context that provides continuity. No recent changes to district boundaries, curriculum, or major funding measures like bonds or overrides were publicly reported in the information available, so the current operating conditions appear stable. The housing market in the area shows that typical home values have dipped slightly in the past year, while rents have risen. General economic conditions in the Greater Phoenix area include a low unemployment rate and a median household income that sits above the national figure, though the specific local income and poverty statistics for Glendale itself were not included in the data.
For a family considering this school, the core takeaway is straightforward. Desert Palms is a traditional, neighborhood-based school in a stable district serving a diverse community. The academic performance data present some soft spots, particularly in math and some ELA grades, where proficiency rates are lower than the regional average. A parent with a child entering grades where test data is available should treat those numbers as a starting point for a conversation with the school about curriculum and support. The lack of free-lunch data and the suppressed test results for several grade levels mean some key pieces of the school's profile are simply not visible from the public record.
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