The reported proficiency rate for Math is 34%.
Original Research by School Decision on Howell Peter Elementary
Howell Peter Elementary is a regular public school in Tucson, serving students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Tucson Unified District, a large, urban system that has seen a long-term enrollment decline and voters recently renewed a key operating override to maintain specialist programs and smaller class sizes. The district also operates under a federal desegregation order that shapes student assignment and magnet offerings.
The student body at Howell Peter is mixed. The largest group is Hispanic, followed by White students, with a sizable Black population and smaller shares of American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and multiracial students. The school has a modest enrollment that is typical of an elementary site in a central Tucson location.
State testing results from the most recent year are limited. For math and English language arts in grades three through five, and for fifth-grade science, most proficiency rates were suppressed and not reported. Only third-grade math showed a proficiency rate that placed it below the midpoint among schools in Pima County when measured by an overall proficiency index. The two-year trend data that is available shows a flat pattern at a low level of proficiency in both math and ELA. A parent will want to look into this further with the school, as the available information does not provide a full picture of academic performance.
Housing data for the area around the school shows a home value that is moderate compared to broader national benchmarks, and rents that are somewhat higher relative to incomes, suggesting a market where owning a home may be more attainable than in many parts of the country, though renters may feel a tighter squeeze. The local unemployment rate is typical for the national economy.
Tucson's character is central to any family's understanding of this school's context. The city is a major desert metro, second-largest in Arizona, with a hot, dry climate and a sprawling footprint that makes driving the primary way to get around outside of the downtown and university areas. The economy is anchored by the University of Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and a growing tech and optics sector. The overall city has experienced suburban expansion to the north and south, while downtown has seen reinvestment. The school sits within the city's broader residential fabric, not in a compact village.
Howell Peter is a neighborhood elementary school in a large district undergoing enrollment and facility pressure. The academic data available is incomplete, and what is reported is weak. For a family considering this school, the primary question likely revolves around understanding the specific classroom experience, the school's culture, and how well it serves its diverse student body, since the district-level and testing data do not offer a clear signal on those points.
See more original research from School Decision →