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What's the biggest difference between Desert Star and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
637
Elementary
DISTRICT 706 · STATE 451
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AVONDALE ELEMENTARY DISTRICT (4272)·NCES 040096002255
Desert Star
2131 S 157TH AVE, GOODYEAR, AZ 85338 · (623) 772-4600 · Maricopa County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL637 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.9:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.9:1 · STATE 17.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 95%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 5 | 1% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 64 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 64 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 68 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 67 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 59 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 67 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 82 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 93 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 27% smaller than its 8th grade class (93).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 65% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
AASA 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
42.0%
AZ avg 45.4% . +10.0pp since 2017
Math
35.0%
AZ avg 37.8% . +1.0pp since 2017
What this means: On the AASA, Arizona's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arizona schools, those numbers are about 45 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 10 points since 2017, while math scores are up about 1 points.
AASA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.0% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 37.0% | 29.0% |
| 2022-23 | 36.0% | 33.0% |
| 2021-22 | 41.0% | 34.0% |
| 2020-21 | 31.0% | 30.0% |
| 2018-19 | 36.0% | 39.0% |
| 2017-18 | 32.0% | 34.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: AASA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Desert Star ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Arizona | In Maricopa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #443 of 1,072 ▲ 92 | #306 of 646 ▲ 34 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #409 of 1,072 ▲ 116 | #287 of 646 ▲ 55 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.0pp | #374 of 930 | #231 of 577 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 637 | #282 of 1,223 | #219 of 692 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.9:1 | #868 of 991 | #549 of 615 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.7% | #383 of 1,007 | #262 of 627 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.5% | #554 of 721 | #356 of 456 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
637
-28 (-4%) vs 2020
-25% since 2010-11, when it was 847
Student : Teacher
20.9:1
was 31.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 637 | 30.5 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 630 | 30 | 21.0:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 638 | 28.3 | 22.5:1 | 65% (413) |
| 2020-21 | 665 | 21 | 31.7:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 696 | 35.5 | 19.6:1 | 64% (444) |
| 2015-16 | 679 | 31 | 21.9:1 | 56% (380) |
| 2010-11 | 847 | 40 | 21.2:1 | 46% (393) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Desert Star.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (696 to 637); teachers down 14% (35.5 to 30.5).
About Desert Star
The public elementary school Desert Star is located in GOODYEAR, Arizona. It is open to students in pre-K through 8 and enrolls 637 students. It has 41% more students than the average for elementary schools in Arizona (about 451).
District-wide, Avondale Elementary District (4272) has 9 schools and 6,000 students.
At Desert Star, 60% of students are Hispanic. After that, the student body is 23% White, 13% Black, and 3% multiracial. Census figures show Maricopa County is about 31% Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 58%.
Staffing at Desert Star comes to 30.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 20.9:1. Elementary schools in Arizona average 17.0:1, 3.9 fewer students per teacher than here.
Looking at the county, Maricopa County, median household income comes to about $89,300, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 37% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. The county's public schools total 1,352, with about 725,139 students.
Measured in a straight line, Legacy Traditional School - Goodyear is about 0.6 miles from Desert Star. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 665 students in 2020-21, enrollment fell to 637 by 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 20.9:1, from 31.7:1.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Maricopa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,559,748
Census ACS
Median income
$89,300
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,352
725,139 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Avondale Elementary District (4272)
- Copper TrailsElementary · 1,020 students
- Desert ThunderElementary · 928 students
- Michael AndersonElementary · 834 students
- Wildflower Accelerated AcademyElementary · 750 students
- Centerra Mirage STEM AcademyElementary · 659 students
- Eliseo C. Felix SchoolElementary · 516 students
Other schools in GOODYEAR
- Millennium High SchoolHigh · 2,295 students
- Desert Edge High SchoolHigh · 2,106 students
- Estrella Foothills High SchoolHigh · 1,592 students
- Belen Soto Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,123 students
- Copper TrailsElementary · 1,020 students
- Western Sky Middle SchoolMiddle · 952 students
Nearby schools
- Legacy Traditional School - Goodyear0.6 mi · 585
- Desert Edge High School0.7 mi · 2,106
- BASIS Goodyear0.9 mi · 318
- BASIS Goodyear Primary0.9 mi · 657
- Centerra Mirage STEM Academy1.2 mi · 659
- Wildflower Accelerated Academy1.3 mi · 750
Frequently asked questions
About Desert StarHow many students attend Desert Star?
Desert Star enrolls approximately 637 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Desert Star serve?
Desert Star serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Desert Star?
Approximately 20.9:1 students per teacher at Desert Star.
How diverse is Desert Star?
Desert Star reports a student body of 23% White, 60% Hispanic, 13% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Desert Star?
Desert Star is overseen by Avondale Elementary District (4272) in Maricopa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.