Mountain Shadows Elementary School, Glendale AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Mountain Shadows Elementary School

Mountain Shadows Elementary School sits in Glendale as part of the Deer Valley Unified School District, serving students from preschool through sixth grade as a regular public school. The school draws from the northern part of Glendale, a large suburban city that borders Phoenix and mixes residential neighborhoods with retail centers, entertainment venues, and industrial employers like Honeywell Aerospace. The area around the school is auto-oriented suburban development, typical of much of Glendale outside the Historic Downtown and Westgate Entertainment District.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population making up the next largest group, and smaller shares of students who are Asian, Black, or of two or more races. Enrollment is modest for the PK-through-six grade band. Data on economic disadvantage was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state assessments from a recent school year, Mountain Shadows Elementary shows a pattern that varies noticeably by grade level and subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates run from around half of students in third and fourth grades to about a quarter in fifth grade, then climb to above two-thirds in sixth grade. Math follows a similar but flatter curve, with third graders at roughly the midpoint, dipping to about a quarter in fifth grade, and rising to two-fifths in sixth grade. Science results from fifth grade, the only grade tested in that subject, show about a third of students meeting the proficiency bar. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits slightly above the midpoint relative to other districts in Maricopa County.

This pattern of grade-level variation suggests that the school’s performance is not uniform across the elementary span. The dip in fifth-grade results in both English and math stands out, while sixth graders show the highest proficiency rates of any grade in both subjects. A parent might want to ask the school about how instruction and curriculum change as students move through the grades, particularly around the transition to upper elementary.

Beyond test scores, the available data is limited. Information on staffing ratios, course access, chronic absenteeism, discipline, and the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not reported. The district brief turned up no specific recent changes related to bonds, overrides, curriculum, or budget decisions that would affect families at the school. The housing context in the area shows home values that are above the national median, with rents at a level that could be a stretch for some households. The mortgage rate environment and the ratio of home prices to income suggest that owning a home in this part of Glendale requires substantial income.

For a family considering Mountain Shadows Elementary, the school offers a regular neighborhood elementary program in a district that serves a large suburban region of northern Glendale. The biggest open questions revolve around the grade-level performance variability and the missing data on student support populations and school climate factors. Visiting the school and speaking with staff about how they address the dip seen in fifth-grade results, and what academic supports are available for students who need them, would give a clearer picture than the test scores alone provide.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 56% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 37% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 55% · ▼ 31 pts below district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 26% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 23% · ▲ 29 pts above district

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

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 38% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 52% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 58% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 51% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolDeer Valley Unified District (4246), 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.