The reported proficiency rate for Science is 92%.
Original Research by School Decision on Centennial High School
Centennial High School in Peoria is a large regular public high school serving students in grades nine through twelve, though its official grade band extends to grade seven. Enrollment data shows no students in grades seven or eight, so the school effectively operates as a comprehensive high school within the Peoria Unified School District. The school is part of a stable district that serves several Phoenix-area communities including Peoria, Glendale, Youngtown, and a small portion of Surprise, with no major openings or closures reported in recent years. Families moving into the area can expect continuity in school assignments.
Peoria itself is a rapidly growing Phoenix suburb that has shifted from its agricultural roots toward resort and leisure living, with significant new industrial and commercial development along a major freeway corridor. The city is car-dependent and sprawling, with residential life organized around master-planned communities and commercial nodes such as the P83 Entertainment District and Park West. The housing market in the school’s immediate zip code reflects a typical suburban Arizona pattern, with home values somewhat above the state benchmark and modest recent softening. Rent levels suggest a competitive market. The city’s growth has been substantial, and the district’s stable footprint of schools suggests that Centennial is an established campus within a larger, growing system.
The student body at Centennial is sizable, with a student population in the low thousands. The demographic composition shows a white plurality, a large Hispanic share, and smaller proportions of Black, Asian, Native American, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals was not available, nor were figures on students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner status. Families interested in how the school serves specific student populations may want to ask the school directly about special education services and language support programs.
Academic performance data is limited and requires careful interpretation. State testing results from the most recent year were reported only for a very small number of eighth-grade students—fewer than two dozen—for whom the school provided science testing. Among those tested, science proficiency was very high. However, math and English language arts results for that same small group were suppressed, meaning the numbers were too small to report publicly. For the school’s older students in grades nine through twelve, no state assessment data is available in the provided records, likely because Arizona does not administer those tests at high school levels in the same way. The school’s single-year composite proficiency index, which combines all reported scores, landed in the top quarter among districts in Maricopa County. But that index is driven almost entirely by the high science result from a very small cohort, so it should not be taken as a comprehensive measure of the school’s overall academic strength. Graduation rate data was not available, which an interested parent may want to follow up on with the district or school directly.
Given the gaps in testing data and the absence of program offerings, course access, and discipline records in the available information, this narrative cannot offer a full picture of academic rigor or student experience at Centennial. The school likely offers a typical range of high school courses, but specifics—such as Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, career and technical education, or extracurricular breadth—are not documented here. Families considering Centennial should seek current information from the school or district about curriculum, graduation requirements, and postsecondary pathways.
The school environment and access data fields were largely empty, so there is no reported information on attendance, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or discipline. The civil rights and outcomes section was also empty. This means that while the school is clearly a long-standing institution in a growing district, a parent or resident looking for a detailed academic or behavioral profile will need to gather that information directly.
In short, Centennial High School is a large, established suburban high school in a fast-growing Phoenix suburb. Its academic profile is not well documented in publicly available testing data for high school grades, and key outcome measures like graduation rate are missing. The school serves a diverse student body and sits within a district that has remained structurally stable through recent years. Prospective families should treat this as an invitation to visit, talk to current students and staff, and request the detailed data that would fill in the gaps left here.
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