The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Bernard Black Elementary School
Bernard Black Elementary School is a regular public school in the Roosevelt Elementary District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Located in the sprawling urban center of Phoenix, the school sits within a large district that covers parts of the city’s South Phoenix area. The school functions as a neighborhood school with a grade span that allows families to stay in one building from early childhood through the end of middle school.
The student body is diverse, with a predominantly Hispanic enrollment and a substantial Black student population, along with smaller shares of Asian, white, and multiracial students. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not available, so a full picture of economic need at the school is incomplete, though the district context in South Phoenix suggests a range of household circumstances.
Academic performance is weak across most tested grades and subjects. In math, the proficiency rates that were reported were low, with the strongest showing at the sixth-grade level still well below a majority of students meeting the bar. In English language arts, sixth grade was the relative high point, but fifth, seventh, and eighth grades all fell well short of half of students proficient. Science results were also low, with eighth grade the only grade where a score was reported and it came in far below a majority reaching proficiency. Several grade-level results in both subjects were suppressed for reasons not stated, which often happens when the tested group is small. Compared with other districts across Maricopa County, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it below the midpoint. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how instruction is structured and what supports are in place for students who are behind grade level.
Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to consider. Students who live in this attendance zone will move on to a high school elsewhere, likely within the Roosevelt Elementary District’s feeder pattern or to a charter or private option.
The school operates as a standard, non-charter public school with no stated magnet or Title I designation, though the Title I status was not available in the data. Discipline, staffing, attendance, and course access data were all absent, so it is not possible to assess chronic absenteeism, teacher experience, or the breadth of course offerings beyond the core tested subjects. Program offerings were not reported. That leaves open questions about electives, arts, physical education, and any specialized academic tracks a family might want to investigate directly.
Phoenix itself is a major employment center with a diversified economy in technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code are close to the national median, with rents near the national average, though affordability relative to local incomes is tight. The city continues to grow, and the South Phoenix area has seen investment over the years.
The Roosevelt Elementary District, as a whole, did not have any recent parent-relevant changes surfaced in publicly available searches, so the operating conditions appear stable at the district level.
In short, Bernard Black Elementary serves a diverse student population across a full pre-K-through-8 span in a growing urban setting. Its academic proficiency numbers are below what many families would hope for, and the lack of available data on staffing, discipline, and enrichment programs makes it hard to round out the picture. A family considering this school would likely want to visit, ask about academic intervention and acceleration, and get a sense of the school climate directly.
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