Flora Thew Elementary School, Tempe AZ

Original Research by School Decision on Flora Thew Elementary School

Flora Thew Elementary School is a regular public school in the Tempe School District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in Tempe, an inner suburb of Phoenix shaped heavily by Arizona State University’s main campus. The city has a split character: the northern half, near the light-rail line and ASU, is dense and urbanized with high-rises along Tempe Town Lake and a pedestrian-oriented Mill Avenue district, while the southern areas are more auto-oriented with single-family homes and strip malls. The school itself is located in the southern part of the city, in a residential area. Housing values in the surrounding zip code are moderately above the national benchmark but slightly below Arizona’s state average, and rents have seen a modest recent decline. The local economy is anchored by the university and major corporate employers such as State Farm and GoDaddy. The Tempe School District did not publicly report any recent major policy or curriculum changes, so the school’s academic profile reflects its current conditions without a pending overhaul.

Flora Thew’s enrollment is mid-sized for an elementary school. The student body is heavily Hispanic, with Black students making up a notable share and smaller numbers of students who are white, Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. Data on the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and on English learner or special education populations were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of economic and academic support provided.

On the most recent state assessments, proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were consistently below the midpoint for tested grade levels. In math, the share of students meeting the bar was around one in five across third, fourth, and fifth grades. In ELA, roughly one-quarter to one-third of third graders reached proficiency, with lower rates in fourth and fifth. Science results for fifth graders were similarly low. When compared to other districts in Maricopa County, Flora Thew’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades falls in the bottom fourth. The school does not serve high school grades, so it has no graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data were also not available to review.

Because this is an elementary school, families can expect a standard grade band with no high school pathways or career programs to consider. The lack of program offerings in the data means there is no publicly listed enrichment or specialized curriculum beyond the regular classroom. A parent exploring this school will likely want to visit and ask about interventions, academic support structures, and how the school addresses the low state assessment results. The surrounding community offers the amenities of a college town—parks, cultural venues, and transit access—but the school’s academic performance suggests that families should look into the specific classroom experience and any targeted programs before enrolling.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 31% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 33% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 30% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 30% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 26% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 37% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 31% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolTempe School District (4258), 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.