The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Thatcher Elementary School
Thatcher Elementary School serves grades three through six in the small, growing town of Thatcher, Arizona, as part of the Thatcher Unified District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its grade band means it does not serve early elementary or high school students. No graduation rate is reported because the school does not have a graduating class, and no state testing data exists for grades the school does not teach. The school’s location at 1350 4th Avenue places it within a town that functions as a regional hub for the Gila Valley. Eastern Arizona College, Arizona’s oldest community college, sits within the town limits, and its tree-lined campus and facilities such as a gymnasium, wellness center, and swimming pool are open to residents. U.S. Highway 70 runs through town as a main commercial corridor, and the built environment is low-density and auto-oriented. Agriculture, once the economic mainstay, is being eclipsed by higher education and retail, with former agricultural lands converting to residential and commercial uses. The population has grown steadily in recent years, outpacing the state average, and the town’s housing values are near the national median but below the Arizona benchmark. The district’s publicly reported records did not show any recent referendums, curriculum shifts, or property-tax changes of lasting parent relevance in the span examined.
Enrollment is moderate for a school covering four grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic minority and very small representations of American Indian, Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch counts and rates were not available in the provided data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about economic need and support programs. Similarly, data on students with disabilities and English learners was missing, and neither chronic absenteeism nor discipline metrics were reported.
Academically, Thatcher Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint compared with other school systems in Graham County, according to the county-district comparison. That is a strength in relative terms. However, the proficiency pattern across subjects and grades is uneven. In English language arts, fourth graders reached a notably higher proficiency rate than the school’s combined average, while fifth graders posted a noticeably lower rate. Math proficiency varied more widely, with fourth graders achieving a result well above the school average and sixth graders below it. Science results, available only for fifth grade, were lower than the math and ELA averages for that grade. Since these results come from a single academic year and no multi-year trend data was available beyond that one year, a family may want to discuss grade-level performance with the school to understand whether dips reflect cohort differences or other factors. The school’s overall proficiency index was above the county median but still left room for improvement in several grades and subjects.
Because the school ends at sixth grade, families planning the full K–12 path will need to consider the district’s middle and high school options, which are not covered in this profile. The available data did not include information on course offerings, extracurricular programs, or staffing ratios, so a parent interested in enrichment or class sizes may want to follow up directly. Thatcher Elementary presents as a mid-sized elementary school in a growing rural-suburban community, with academic performance that is competitive within its county but varies by grade and subject. For a family considering the area, the school offers a regular public school setting in a town anchored by a community college and a stable economic base.
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