The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Science. The lowest is 35% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on St David Elementary School
St. David Elementary School serves students from preschool through eighth grade in the small, rural community of Saint David, Arizona. The school is part of the St. David Unified District, a single district covering the town. The school complex sits along the main highway through town, on Patten Street, and is a central civic hub, hosting events like the annual San Pedro Valley Fair. The town itself is a sparse, historically Mormon farming community along the San Pedro River, with a few businesses lining the highway. It has experienced a slight population decline in recent years, and no major new housing developments have been identified. The district recently undertook a major capital construction project and saw a significant increase in state funding, which together represent a meaningful investment in the physical facilities that directly affects students.
The school is a regular public school serving a modest enrollment for a PK-8 setting. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a notable share, and other racial and ethnic groups each representing a very small portion of the whole. Key data on the share of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, as well as the share of students with an active Individualized Education Program (IEP) or classified as English learners, was not available in the data we reviewed.
State assessment results for the most recent year present a mixed picture that a parent will want to examine carefully. For mathematics, the one grade level where a proficiency rate was not suppressed was fifth grade, and that rate was below a majority. The data also shows a combined overall mathematics proficiency rate across all tested grades that stood at roughly a quarter of students. For English language arts, the picture is somewhat stronger: reported proficiency rates for fifth, sixth, and seventh grades all fell between about a third and just under half of students, with the combined overall rate being a bit over a third. Many other grade-level results in both math and ELA were suppressed, often due to small testing group sizes, which is a common occurrence in a smaller school but limits a full view of performance by grade. In science, proficiency in fifth grade reached nearly half of students, but the eighth-grade science result was suppressed. When compared to other districts within Cochise County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint, offering some relative context for its performance within the region.
As a PK-8 school, St. David Elementary does not have a graduation rate, as that metric applies only to high schools. The profile for the district’s high school graduates would be a separate consideration for a family. The school environment data, including information on discipline, attendance, and chronic absenteeism, was not available in the data provided.
For a family considering this community, the school is the clear center of local life. The setting is decidedly rural, with a tight-knit feel and limited commercial amenities. The academic pathway is one where proficiency rates are uneven, and while the school performs better than many of its peers within the county, the absolute rates in core subjects like math are an area where a parent would want to engage directly with the school to understand the instructional approach and support available. The investment in new facilities by the district suggests a commitment to the physical campus. This school may fit a family looking for a small, community-anchored school in a quiet, agricultural town, where they are comfortable digging deeper into academic performance details directly with the school itself.
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