The reported proficiency rate for English language arts is 28%.
Original Research by School Decision on Cactus Wren Elementary School
Cactus Wren Elementary School, a regular public school in the Washington Elementary School District, serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade in Phoenix. It is located in a large, sprawling urban center. Phoenix’s economy is concentrated in high-technology, manufacturing, tourism, and services, and the city is among the fastest-growing in the nation. The school's zip code shows a modest decline in both home values and rental prices over the past year, with the estimated monthly mortgage cost exceeding the typical rent, a pattern that reflects the national housing affordability picture.
The school’s enrollment is in the lower hundreds for the elementary grade band. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with the largest share of students identifying as Hispanic, followed by White, Black, and Asian students, with smaller numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available. Information was also missing on the percentage of students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and those classified as English learners.
State testing data for the 2024-25 school year is mostly suppressed for Cactus Wren due to small group sizes, which is common for individual grade-level results in a smaller school. The one non-suppressed result, for sixth-grade English language arts, shows roughly a quarter of students meeting proficiency. The overall proficiency index, which the school’s Maricopa County comparison set places below the midpoint relative to other districts in the county, reflects that reading. In both math and English language arts, the available combined schoolwide data for 2024-25 shows proficiency rates that are below a third of students. Science results, typically tested in fifth grade, were also suppressed.
The data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary actions, or staffing ratios, so it is not possible to draw conclusions about the school's climate or student engagement from those measures. The school does not have a graduation rate because it does not serve high school grades.
A search for recent district-level changes in the Washington Elementary School District, including bonds, overrides, or curriculum shifts, found little of lasting impact to report. Parents may want to contact the district or the school directly for information on current program offerings, such as art, music, or after-school activities, as that data was not included. The same applies to details on the school’s Title I status, which was not available.
Cactus Wren operates as a regular public school that is not a charter. Its North Phoenix location is within the country’s largest county by district count, which gives families a wide array of nearby schooling options. For a family considering this school, the main data point is the academic performance picture, which appears to be on the lower end compared to the broader county landscape. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the programs and supports in place to address student learning, given the available test results.
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