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McDowell Mountain Elementary School

Q: Is McDowell Mountain Elementary School a good school?

McDowell Mountain Elementary School ranks 579 th of 909 Arizona elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

579^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 909 Arizona Elementary Schools

Better than 36% of Arizona elementary schools

Summary

McDowell Mountain Elementary School is a public elementary school in Fountain Hills, Arizona, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 418 students. The school is part of the Fountain Hills Unified District, which is ranked 159 out of 289 districts in Arizona and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

According to the key insights, McDowell Mountain Elementary School's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates in various subjects and grade levels, is generally below the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades were all lower than the Fountain Hills Unified District and Arizona state averages. Additionally, the school's performance for specific student subgroups, such as female, male, and white students, is also below average when compared to the state. However, the school's ranking for low socioeconomic status (SES) students is in the 3-star range, suggesting that the school may be doing a better job of supporting this student population.

Interestingly, the analysis reveals that Copper Ridge School and other nearby schools in the Scottsdale Unified District are generally higher-performing than McDowell Mountain Elementary School. This significant performance gap highlights the potential for improvement at McDowell Mountain Elementary School, and the school's leadership and the Fountain Hills Unified District should prioritize addressing these challenges through targeted interventions and collaboration with higher-performing neighboring schools.

382

Students ?

11.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,703

Per pupil spending ?

31.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

15414 N McDowell Mountain Rd
Fountain Hills, AZ 85268-2364

(480) 664-5210

District: Fountain Hills Unified District

Students who attend McDowell Mountain Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Fountain Hills Middle School
High:	Fountain Hills High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

42.4%

Hispanic:

23.3%

American Indian:

22.5%

See top rated Arizona elementary schools

Compare McDowell Mountain Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 34th percentile in 2024 → 36th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (32% vs 39% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Mathematics scores 13 pts below the Arizona average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg32%

Arizona avg39%

579^th of 909

Arizona public elementary schools ?

Bottom 36%▲ up 3 pts since 2024

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

159^th of 289Fountain Hills Unified District among Arizona districts

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
2025	28.2	579 of 909	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.4	606 of 912	33.6%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	27.7	420 of 589	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	35.2	396 of 602	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	44.4	265 of 549	51.7%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	504 of 626	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	528 of 628	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	13.4	429 of 465	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.1	434 of 486	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)52nd percentile+15 vs school

Female (2025)29th percentile-8 vs school

Male (2025)19th percentile-17 vs school

White (2025)8th percentile-29 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

Science38%+4 vs state

English Language Arts35%-5 vs state

Mathematics27%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near McDowell Mountain Elementary 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 3rd Grade	AASA English Language Arts 4th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 5th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 3rd Grade	AASA Mathematics 4th Grade	AASA Mathematics 5th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 5th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th 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
McDowell Mountain Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	15414 N McDowell Mountain Rd	Fountain Hills	85268	Maricopa County	Fountain Hills Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 664-5210	382	34	11.3		162 (42.4%)	8 (2.1%)	89 (23.3%)	3 (0.8%)	86 (22.5%)	4 (1.0%)	30 (7.9%)	28.2	579^th of 909 public elementary schools	36.3%		27.4	606^th of 912 public elementary schools	33.6%	27	29.0	37.0	38.0				30.0	19.0	31.0				38.0		$11,703	$2,008	$525	$4,541	$7,174	$1,996	$9,170
Mission Montessori Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	12990 E Shea Blvd	Scottsdale	85259	Maricopa County	Little Lamb Community School	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 860-4330	129	10	12.9		97 (75.2%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (12.4%)	6 (4.7%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.0%)	94.8	39^th of 909 public elementary schools	95.7%		94.3	39^th of 912 public elementary schools	95.7%		75.0	74.0					75.0	79.0								$00			$00
Anasazi Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	12121 N 124th St	Scottsdale	85259	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-7300	423	29	14.6		293 (69.3%)	8 (1.9%)	59 (13.9%)	28 (6.6%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.9%)	88.3	81^st of 909 public elementary schools	91.1%		86.2	111^th of 912 public elementary schools	87.8%	30	72.0	76.0	67.0				69.0	68.0	60.0				53.0		$7,345	$91	$996	$1,178	$6,354		$6,258
Desert Canyon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10203 E McDowell Mountain Ranc	Scottsdale	85255	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-1700	453	35	13.1		314 (69.3%)	9 (2.0%)	55 (12.1%)	27 (6.0%)	3 (0.7%)	4 (0.9%)	41 (9.1%)	92	56^th of 909 public elementary schools	93.8%		87.4	97^th of 912 public elementary schools	89.4%	41	76.0	68.0	78.0				75.0	78.0	59.0				66.0		$7,545	$274	$01	$549	$6,863	$408	$7,271
Cheyenne Traditional School	Public	PK, KG-8	13636 N 100th St	Scottsdale	85260	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-5600	953	49	19.6		748 (78.5%)	6 (0.6%)	91 (9.5%)	62 (6.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (4.7%)	97.1	10^th of 909 public elementary schools	98.9%		96.4	19^th of 912 public elementary schools	97.9%	9	67.0	89.0	77.0	84.0	79.0	75.0	79.0	81.0	86.0	74.0	69.0	69.0	74.0	68.0	$5,968	$80	$482	$642	$5,322	$85	$5,406
Laguna Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	10475 E Lakeview Dr	Scottsdale	85258	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-2400	369	31	11.9		262 (71.0%)	4 (1.1%)	52 (14.1%)	30 (8.1%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.3%)	80.8	150^th of 909 public elementary schools	83.5%		75.8	198^th of 912 public elementary schools	78.3%	48	57.0	61.0	56.0				68.0	68.0	63.0				48.0		$10,408	$295	$761	$1,351	$9,050	$301	$9,352
Copper Ridge School	Public	PK, KG-8	10101 E Thompson Peak Pkwy	Scottsdale	85255	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-1400	554	40	13.8		444 (80.1%)	9 (1.6%)	52 (9.4%)	19 (3.4%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.7%)	81.4	145^th of 909 public elementary schools	84.0%		81.8	150^th of 912 public elementary schools	83.6%	5	75.0	65.0	75.0	65.0	74.0	64.0	84.0	56.0	63.0	45.0	47.0	39.0	41.0	51.0	$7,613	$185	$499	$870	$6,365	$563	$6,928
Redfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	9181 E Redfield Rd	Scottsdale	85260	Maricopa County	Scottsdale Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 484-4000	420	36	11.6		237 (56.4%)	25 (6.0%)	71 (16.9%)	51 (12.1%)	8 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (6.4%)	69.9	253^rd of 909 public elementary schools	72.2%		78.8	177^th of 912 public elementary schools	80.6%	76	44.0	57.0	61.0				44.0	52.0	67.0				53.0		$8,690	$60	$656	$776	$7,896	$78	$7,974
K-8 STEM Academy at Red Mountain Ranch	Public	PK, KG-8	6650 E Raftriver St	Mesa	85215	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 472-7900	473	30	15.7		301 (63.6%)	15 (3.2%)	103 (21.8%)	8 (1.7%)	5 (1.1%)	5 (1.1%)	36 (7.6%)	70	252^nd of 909 public elementary schools	72.3%		70.2	247^th of 912 public elementary schools	72.9%	5	56.0	52.0	51.0	59.0	56.0		65.0	58.0	48.0	55.0			37.0		$8,641	$360	$05	$725	$8,008	$268	$8,276
Salt River Elementary School	Public	K-6	11562 East Highland Ave	Scottsdale	85256	Maricopa County	Salt River Elementary School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(480) 362-2400	265	33	8.0	98.9%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	265 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about McDowell Mountain Elementary School

What schools do graduates of McDowell Mountain Elementary School attend?

Students who attend McDowell Mountain Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Fountain Hills Middle School
High : Fountain Hills High School

How many students attend McDowell Mountain Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 382 students attended McDowell Mountain Elementary School.

What district is McDowell Mountain Elementary School in?

Fountain Hills Unified District

What is the racial makeup of McDowell Mountain Elementary School?

Students at McDowell Mountain Elementary School are 42% White, 23% Hispanic, 23% American Indian, 8% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

Is McDowell Mountain Elementary School a good school?

McDowell Mountain Elementary School ranks 579^th of 909 Arizona elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate McDowell Mountain Elementary School!

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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.