The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in Math. The lowest is 21% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Roberts Naylor
Roberts Naylor is a regular public school in Tucson that serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. It sits within the Tucson Unified District, one of Arizona’s largest systems, and occupies a spot on the city’s south side near the intersection of South Columbus Boulevard and East 22nd Street. The school enrolls a student body that is large for a PK–8 campus, with representation across all elementary and middle grades. Its combined enrollment, spread from kindergarten through eighth grade, gives the school a feel of a single community that travels together from early childhood to the threshold of high school.
State assessment results for the most recent testing year show a mixed picture with notable soft spots. For the elementary grades where data is available, proficiency rates in math and English language arts are well below the midpoint among schools statewide. In third grade, more than two in five students met the math proficiency bar, but that share dropped to just over one in five by fourth grade. Fifth grade math proficiency was higher than fourth grade but still modest. Reading results follow a similar pattern, with the highest rate in fifth grade at less than a third of students reaching proficiency, and eighth grade reading falling to the lowest level among reported grades. Science results for fifth grade show about one in five students proficient. The state suppressed results for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math and English language arts, as well as eighth grade science, often a practice when group sizes are small or data reliability thresholds are not met. A parent may want to follow up with the school to understand the pattern behind the limited reported numbers for the upper grades.
The school’s overall proficiency, averaged across tested subjects and grades, lands below the midpoint when compared with other schools in Pima County. This is a measure that encompasses the available data and should be considered alongside the fact that several grade-level results were suppressed, leaving an incomplete picture. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
The student body is diverse and predominantly Hispanic, making up more than half of enrollment. Black students account for roughly a quarter of the population, followed by White students, with smaller shares of Asian, American Indian, and multiracial students. The economic context of the families is not available from the data, so a reader cannot assess the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, a common proxy for poverty. Similarly, information on students with disabilities and English learners is missing, which limits a full understanding of the supports in place.
Roberts Naylor operates within a district that has been under a federal desegregation order known as the Unitary Status Plan for many years, shaping school assignments, magnet programs, and transportation. The district has seen a sustained enrollment decline over the past decade and a half, which has prompted ongoing discussions about school utilization and possible facility closures. In late 2024, voters renewed a maintenance and operations override that provides a meaningful share of the district’s budget, funding teacher salaries, art, music, physical education, magnet programs, and full-day kindergarten. That override gives the district more financial stability than some peers in Arizona, though the long-term enrollment trend remains a factor families may want to track.
Housing in the surrounding ZIP code is moderately priced compared to the state average, with home values and rents that are typical for a mid-sized Sun Belt city. The neighborhood is part of a large, sprawling metro area where automobile dependence is the norm outside the downtown and university core. Tucson itself is a major desert city anchored by the University of Arizona, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and a growing technology sector, with a historic downtown and a UNESCO gastronomy designation that reflects its deep Mexican and Sonoran food culture.
For a family considering Roberts Naylor, the core takeaway is a school with a large, diverse student body that serves pre-K through eighth grade under one roof. Academic performance, based on the available state tests, is lower than many other schools in the county, especially in reading and math as students move into the upper elementary and middle grades. The school operates within a large district that is managing enrollment decline while maintaining voter-approved funding for enrichment programs. A parent would want to visit, talk to staff about how the school addresses literacy and math instruction in the middle grades, and ask about the specific programs and supports that are not captured in the data reported here.
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