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Desert Hills High School

Public, Charter Grades 9-12

Summary

Desert Hills High School is a public charter high school in Gilbert, Arizona, serving 264 students in grades 9-12. The school has a diverse student population, with 36.36% White, 38.64% Hispanic, and 12.88% Native American students.

Despite its diverse student body, Desert Hills High School consistently ranks in the bottom half of Arizona high schools, with only 15% of 11th-grade students proficient in English Language Arts and 7% proficient in Mathematics. The school has struggled with high dropout rates, ranging from 11.4% to 22.4%, and a low four-year graduation rate, ranging from 17.3% to 40.9%. A significant portion of the student population, 30.66% to 48.48%, are recipients of free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. The school's SchoolDigger rating has fluctuated between 1 and 3 stars out of 5, reflecting its overall academic and performance challenges.

When compared to nearby high-performing schools like Higley High School, Campo Verde High School, and Gilbert Classical Academy, Desert Hills High School's academic performance, graduation rates, and overall school quality are significantly lower. However, the school's performance for certain student subgroups, such as African American, Native American, and homeless students, shows more promising results, with higher rankings compared to other Arizona high schools. The school's inconsistent funding and staffing, with per-student spending ranging from $9,752 to $12,467 and an unreported student-teacher ratio, may contribute to its challenges in improving academic outcomes.

231

Students ?

19.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,467

Per pupil spending ?

48.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1515 S Val Vista Dr
Gilbert, AZ 85296-3854

(480) 813-1151

District: American Charter Schools Foundation d.b.a. Desert

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

31.2%

White:

30.7%

American Indian:

26.8%

See top rated Arizona public schools

Compare Desert Hills High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 51st percentile in 2011 → 17th in 2023

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (9% vs 31% meeting standards)

!Graduation rate below the Arizona average (46% vs 80%)

!Dropout rate above the Arizona average (16% vs 5%)

Students meeting standards (2022-2023) ?

This school9%

District avg9%

Arizona avg31%

Not ranked this year

Desert Hills High School did not have enough recent test-score data to be ranked. Check the trend below for past years.

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	18.0	391 of 469	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.2	220 of 464	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	21.0	406 of 509	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	367 of 420	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.2	329 of 416	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	18.5	319 of 406	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	35.8	263 of 394	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2013	39.2	299 of 491	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	40.7	278 of 471	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	51.9	195 of 397	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2010	62.5	157 of 403	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2009	55.3	189 of 395	52.2%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	71.6	47 of 301	84.4%	★★★★☆
2021	24.0	202 of 306	34.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	41.7	53 of 258	79.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.6	29 of 312	90.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	16.2	354 of 406	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.8	240 of 456	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	18.4	397 of 492	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.6	328 of 354	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	27.0	274 of 379	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.1	210 of 441	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	19.5	374 of 479	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.7	262 of 311	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	87.1	6 of 60	90.0%	★★★★★
2022	28.0	72 of 150	52.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	66.7	21 of 168	87.5%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2018	9.9	251 of 253	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	15.5	379 of 429	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.2	196 of 455	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	28.7	329 of 492	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	12.6	348 of 370	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	58.2	126 of 374	66.3%	★★★☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	54.9	70 of 255	72.5%	★★★★☆
2021	30.3	115 of 256	55.1%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	35.4	88 of 172	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.4	192 of 380	49.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.9	212 of 422	49.8%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	8.2	349 of 371	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.9	316 of 409	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.3	345 of 448	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	8.3	279 of 291	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Homeless (2023)90th percentile+73 vs school

African American (2022)84th percentile+32 vs school

English Language Learner (2022)79th percentile+27 vs school

Native American (2022)73rd percentile+20 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)66th percentile+46 vs school

Special Education (2023)49th percentile+32 vs school

Hispanic (2023)28th percentile+11 vs school

Female (2023)13th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2023)12th percentile-5 vs school

White (2023)6th percentile-11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2018)1st percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2022-2023) ?

English Language Arts15%-25 vs state

Mathematics7%-25 vs state

Science5%-17 vs state

1.5

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★1

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, January 31, 2013

There is simply no reason to ever treat the students less than human. The behavior of the staff displays lack of respect for the children.. They have given up on the kids and the kids can see it, as they hear day in and day out, just how useless they are in the eyes of the staff. The state needs to come in here and do an investigation to expose all the wrong doing...... THE KIDS HERE AT THIS SCHOOL ARE OK, ITS THE STAFF THAT NEEDS FIXING !!!! Close Quote

by a student
Saturday, June 18, 2011

Drugs run rampant at this school I can think of 3 students I knew personally who died from overdoses in the past year. If u are going to send your kids here to get them away from the drugs and trouble making at their old school. Well guess what? All the students were sent there for that reason. Your kids will only get worse. Close Quote

Schools Near Desert Hills High School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)			AASA Mathematics (2025)			AzSCI Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 11th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 11th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Desert Hills High School	Public, Charter	9-12	1515 S Val Vista Dr	Gilbert	85296	Maricopa County	American Charter Schools Foundation d.b.a. Desert	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 813-1151	231	12	19.2		71 (30.7%)	15 (6.5%)	72 (31.2%)	1 (0.4%)	62 (26.8%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.3%)								(n/a)									$12,467	$2,298	$1,370	$5,966	$4,076	$4,723	$8,799
EVIT - American Leadership Academy Gilbert North	Public	9-12	1070 S Higley Rd	Gilbert	85296	Maricopa County	East Valley Institute of Technology	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(480) 344-9895	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Gilbert High School	Public	7-12	1101 E Elliot Rd	Gilbert	85234	Maricopa County	Gilbert Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 497-0177	2,418	124	19.4		1,262 (52.2%)	70 (2.9%)	800 (33.1%)	83 (3.4%)	28 (1.2%)	14 (0.6%)	161 (6.7%)	57.4	98^th of 271 public high schools	63.8%		48.2	124^th of 270 public high schools	54.1%	26	88.0	78.0	51.0	72.0	62.0	45.0	67.0	24.0	$6,343	$96	$27	$218	$5,775	$446	$6,221
EVIT - Gilbert High School	Public	9-12	1101 E Elliot Rd	Gilbert	85234	Maricopa County	East Valley Institute of Technology	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 461-4000	3				2 (66.7%)	1 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)										$00			$00
EVIT - Williams Field High School	Public	9-12	2076 S Higley Rd	Gilbert	85295	Maricopa County	East Valley Institute of Technology	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 461-4000	3				1 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)										$00			$00
Williams Field High School	Public	8-12	2076 S. Higley Road	Gilbert	85295	Maricopa County	Higley Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 279-8000	2,150	109	19.7		1,129 (52.5%)	190 (8.8%)	542 (25.2%)	87 (4.0%)	21 (1.0%)	15 (0.7%)	166 (7.7%)	69.8	69^th of 271 public high schools	74.5%		68.3	68^th of 270 public high schools	74.8%	1			62.0			52.0		28.0	$6,282	$264	$130	$658	$4,834	$1,054	$5,888
Canyon Valley High School	Public	7-12	140 S Gilbert Rd	Gilbert	85225	Maricopa County	Gilbert Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(480) 507-0519	283	20	14.4		124 (43.8%)	19 (6.7%)	115 (40.6%)	3 (1.1%)	7 (2.5%)	5 (1.8%)	10 (3.5%)								(n/a)
Leading Edge Academy Gilbert Early College	Public, Charter	7-12	717 W Ray Rd	Gilbert	85233	Maricopa County	LEAD Charter Schools	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 545-8011	194	16	12.3		85 (43.8%)	17 (8.8%)	68 (35.1%)	8 (4.1%)	4 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (6.2%)	20.4	217^th of 271 public high schools	19.9%		31.4	174^th of 270 public high schools	35.6%	43			24.0			22.0				$00			$00
Chandler Early College High School	Public	9-12	2626 E Pecos Rd Bldg Jav	Chandler	85225	Maricopa County	Chandler Unified District #80	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(480) 224-3060	80	4	22.8		41 (51.3%)	5 (6.3%)	23 (28.8%)	2 (2.5%)	3 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.5%)								(n/a)
EVIT - Campo Verde High School	Public	9-12	3870 S Quartz St	Gilbert	85297	Maricopa County	East Valley Institute of Technology	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 461-4000	1				0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)										$00			$00

Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Hills High School

How many students attend Desert Hills High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 231 students attended Desert Hills High School.

What is the racial makeup of Desert Hills High School?

Students at Desert Hills High School are 31% Hispanic, 31% White, 27% American Indian, 6% African American, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Desert Hills High School in?

American Charter Schools Foundation d.b.a. Desert

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.