The top reported proficiency rate is 4% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on San Carlos High School
San Carlos High School sits on US Route 70 in Peridot, an unincorporated community on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona. The school serves students in grades six through twelve, though its enrollment data shows that the middle school grades are recorded with zero students in this dataset, while grades nine through twelve have a sizeable high school population. The student body is entirely American Indian or Alaska Native, reflecting the community it serves. Peridot is rural and residential, with no downtown core—scattered homes, a post office, a convenience store, and a K-8 Lutheran school line the highway corridor. The San Carlos River runs through the area, and Coolidge Dam and San Carlos Lake lie nearby. Tribal government and reservation services provide local employment, but specific major employers were not identified in publicly available records.
Academically, state testing data from the most recent year available presents a difficult picture. In math and English language arts for sixth grade, proficiency rates were very low, with only a small fraction of students scoring at the proficient level. Results for seventh and eighth grades in both subjects, as well as eighth-grade science, were suppressed, so a complete picture of performance across all tested grades is not available. Compared to other districts in Gila County, San Carlos High School’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this school will want to discuss directly with the school how it supports students who are behind grade level and what academic interventions are in place.
No graduation rate was reported for this school, which means a key benchmark for high school performance is missing. Given that the school serves grades six through twelve and a graduation rate would normally be available, a family may want to ask the school or district directly for this figure. The school’s free-or-reduced-price lunch participation rate, special education population, and English learner data were all absent from the records reviewed, so the full scope of student support needs is not clear from this data.
There were no recent parent-relevant changes found for San Carlos Unified District in publicly available sources. The district brief turned up only basic directory and demographic information, with nothing of lasting impact reported in recent years.
The community context matters here. Peridot has a very low median household income and a high poverty rate, according to publicly reported census data. The school is a regular public school within the San Carlos Unified District, and it is not a charter or magnet. The area’s population declined slightly in the most recent census decade, and no growth or development data was available in the search. For a family looking at this school, the academic performance data suggests that the school faces substantial challenges in bringing students to grade-level proficiency. A parent should expect to engage closely with the school and district to understand the specific academic supports, available programs, and long-term outcomes for students, especially given the gaps in the reported data on graduation rates and special populations.
See more original research from School Decision →