The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cecil Shamley School
Cecil Shamley School is a regular public school serving preschool through eighth grade in the Tempe School District. It sits within the city of Tempe, an inner suburb of Phoenix whose character is deeply shaped by Arizona State University’s main campus. The northern part of the city, where the university, Mill Avenue, and Tempe Town Lake are located, has a dense, urbanized feel with high-rise development and the Valley Metro light rail line. The areas around the school are more mixed, with single-family homes and lower-density commercial development. This is a college town where the university and the civic downtown are intertwined, not separated.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for its grade span, with a student body that is majority Hispanic. A substantial share of students also identifies as White, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Black, with smaller shares identifying as Asian, two or more races, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were counts for students with disabilities or English learners.
State testing data for the most recent year is incomplete. In several tested grades, proficiency rates for math and English language arts were suppressed, meaning the state did not release them for reasons such as small group sizes. Where results were reported, they show that about a quarter of tested students scored proficient or above in English language arts at the fifth, seventh, and eighth grade levels. In science, the only reported result was for eighth graders, where roughly a similar share met the proficiency bar. A multi-year snapshot of overall proficiency, combining all tested grades, shows a pattern of low attainment, with English language arts floating around the low twenties percentile and math near the single digits. The school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint when compared to other schools within Maricopa County districts. Because this school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
A parent evaluating Cecil Shamley will see a school with a limited picture of academic performance, and what is available suggests that many students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks. This is a pattern that warrants direct conversation with the school about classroom instruction and academic support, especially given that data for several grade levels was suppressed and cannot be evaluated.
The housing market in the area is expensive relative to the national median. Home values in the zip code are near the state average and slightly above the national median, while rents have been softening moderately. The area’s large employers, including Arizona State University, State Farm, and several major corporate headquarters, anchor a stable local economy. The city continues to grow and develop, with Tempe Town Lake having spurred significant commercial and high-rise construction. The school itself sits within a district for which no recent policy or referendum changes were found in public reporting.
Cecil Shamley is a mid-sized K-8 school in a dynamic, university-oriented part of the Phoenix metro area. The academic picture available to the public is thin in places and low in the results that are reported, making it a place that will require proactive investigation from families who want a clear sense of student outcomes. It is part of a stable, established school district operating in a growing and economically diverse city.
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