The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Aguilar School
Aguilar School is a regular public elementary school in the Tempe School District, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Located in the southern part of Tempe, it sits within a city that is an inner suburb of Phoenix, heavily shaped by Arizona State University’s main campus. The northern part of Tempe, near the light rail and the university, has a denser, urbanized development pattern with high-rise buildings along Tempe Town Lake and the Mill Avenue entertainment and shopping district. Going south, where Aguilar is located, the development becomes less dense, consisting of single-family homes, strip malls, and lower-density office parks. The city is a major employment and education center, with ASU as the largest employer, alongside corporate headquarters for companies like GoDaddy and DriveTime.
Aguilar is a neighborhood school for families in this southern part of Tempe. The student body is diverse, with the largest group identifying as Hispanic, followed by much smaller shares of students who are American Indian or Alaska Native, white, Black, and multiracial. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and English learner and special education counts were not available in the data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the specific supports in place for those populations.
On state assessments, Aguilar's results are mixed and offer a few points to consider. In fourth grade, a majority of students met or exceeded the state standard in English language arts, while just under half did so in math. By fifth grade, the proficiency rates in both subjects were lower. In science, about a third of fifth graders scored proficient or above. Third-grade reading and math results were suppressed from public reporting, so a clear view of that cohort isn't available. Compared to proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades, Aguilar’s overall performance sits below the midpoint relative to districts in Maricopa County. Across the two school years of data available, math proficiency held around the same level, while English language arts ticked up very slightly. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
As a pre-K through fifth-grade school, Aguilar provides an early and elementary pathway within the Tempe district. The broader district’s recent parent-relevant changes were not found in public sources, so whether there are active shifts in curriculum, programming, or school boundaries is something a family would need to verify directly with the district office. The housing market in this part of Tempe reflects the city’s overall affordability challenges. Home values are close to the state benchmark, and rents and mortgage costs are a notable share of the typical household income, which a family should weigh when considering the area.
For a parent or resident evaluating Aguilar School, this is a mid-to-lower performing elementary school on state tests, serving a diverse student population in the southern, less dense part of a large suburban college town. Its strengths include a regular public school setting within a well-established district, and the city offers substantial civic and economic anchors, from ASU to Tempe Town Lake to the light rail. The weaker test results, particularly in math and science for older elementary grades, are a soft spot that a family may wish to discuss with the school to understand what academic interventions and enrichment are available.
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