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Centennial Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
168th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 900 Arizona Elementary Schools
Better than 81% of Arizona elementary schools
Summary

Centennial Elementary School is a PK–8 school serving 588 students in Gilbert, in the suburban Phoenix area, and is part of the Higley Unified School District. It performs well compared with Arizona overall: in 2025–26, its students scored 60% proficient in English language arts (ELA) and 56% in math, versus 41% and 33% statewide. But the most important qualification for families is that Centennial’s all-grades results are below the nearby-school averages: 61% in ELA and 59% in math.

Centennial’s strongest comparison with nearby schools is science, while its all-grades ELA and math results trail the local averages. In 5th-grade science, Centennial scored 54% in 2024–25, about 2 points above nearby schools’ 52% average and 1 point above the district’s 53%. By contrast, its ELA and math results are each only 1 point above district rates of 59% and 55%, and 1 point and 3 points below nearby averages, respectively. Grade-level results are mixed: 4th-grade ELA was 69%, close to the nearby average of 68%, while 4th-grade math was 58%, 10 points below the nearby average of 68% and the district’s 68%. These differences suggest asking about support in 4th-grade math and 3rd-grade ELA, where Centennial’s 55% was 7 points below the nearby average.

Science results have fluctuated rather than climbed steadily: Centennial’s 5th-grade scores were 52% in 2022–23, 59% in 2023–24, and 54% in 2024–25. SchoolDigger rated Centennial at the 81st statewide percentile with 4 stars in 2025–26, down from the 83rd percentile in each of the prior two years; among the ten schools compared, five ranked higher and four lower. Its student-teacher ratio fell to 14.5 in 2024–25, below the nearby average of 15.7, though that has not coincided with leading local test results. SchoolDigger’s Female Students ranking was the 62nd percentile, below the school’s overall 81st percentile, continuing a gap seen in the prior two years. Its Foster Care Students ranking dropped from the 86th percentile in 2020–21 to the 16th in 2022–23; that sharp change is based on one later year and a comparison pool of 38 schools. Centennial’s only reported free/reduced-lunch rate was 17% in 2022–23, and nearby figures are unavailable for comparison.

588
Students ?
14.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$6,866
Per pupil spending ?
17.7%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
91.1%
Kindergartners fully immunized against measles (MMR) (2025-26)
Exemptions: 8.9% (any vaccine)
 3507 S Ranch House Pkwy
       Gilbert, AZ  85297-4945

(480) 279-8200

District: Higley Unified School District


Students who attend Centennial Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Sossaman Middle School
High:    Higley High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
62.4%
Hispanic:
23.3%
Two or more races:
6.6%
more
 See top rated Arizona elementary schools

 Compare Centennial Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 92nd percentile in 2016 → 81st in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Arizona average (58% vs 37% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 19% of Arizona elementary schools
Worth a look
!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2016
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school58%
District avg57%
Arizona avg37%
168th of 900
Arizona public elementary schools ?
Top 19%▼ down 10 pts since 2016
From top 8% (2016) to top 19% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
6th of 9Elementary Schools in the Higley Unified School District
62nd of 267Higley Unified School 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202677.4168 of 90081.3%★★★★☆
202580.4153 of 90983.2%★★★★☆
202480.8155 of 91283.0%★★★★☆
202385.4177 of 124585.8%★★★★☆
202277.0191 of 100080.9%★★★★☆
202190.0126 of 122689.7%★★★★☆
201980.1201 of 103980.7%★★★★☆
201875.5270 of 110975.7%★★★★☆
201780.2215 of 110680.6%★★★★☆
201690.091 of 107991.6%★★★★★
201588.091 of 95590.5%★★★★★
201491.055 of 107994.9%★★★★★
201388.762 of 115894.6%★★★★★
201284.3118 of 114189.7%★★★★☆
201185.9117 of 107589.1%★★★★☆
201084.0150 of 109086.2%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202361.1205 of 60766.2%★★★☆☆
202256.7157 of 28945.7%★★☆☆☆
202181.945 of 89595.0%★★★★★

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202166.7178 of 62071.3%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202168.828 of 97597.1%★★★★★

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202657.7221 of 57961.8%★★★☆☆
202563.2182 of 58969.1%★★★☆☆
202459.9205 of 60265.9%★★★☆☆
202381.6195 of 121984.0%★★★★☆
202270.6200 of 82475.7%★★★★☆
202188.0122 of 121990.0%★★★★★
201969.5232 of 86273.1%★★★★☆
201865.7354 of 102365.4%★★★☆☆

Foster Care

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202315.332 of 3815.8%★☆☆☆☆
202160.043 of 30685.9%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202574.9109 of 49678.0%★★★★☆
202475.6100 of 48679.4%★★★★☆
202384.7119 of 117089.8%★★★★☆
202268.7213 of 71670.3%★★★★☆
202186.790 of 119892.5%★★★★★
201969.8195 of 70972.5%★★★★☆
201867.1248 of 91172.8%★★★★☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202175.716 of 42396.2%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202687.846 of 52991.3%★★★★★
202580.873 of 54986.7%★★★★☆
202480.371 of 55687.2%★★★★☆
202379.0140 of 111687.5%★★★★☆
201873.5152 of 82081.5%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202668.8154 of 59173.9%★★★★☆
202573.1135 of 62678.4%★★★★☆
202476.3113 of 62882.0%★★★★☆
202385.3158 of 121687.0%★★★★☆
202271.6192 of 83076.9%★★★★☆
202189.2121 of 122090.1%★★★★★
201978.5153 of 85082.0%★★★★☆
201879.5219 of 103278.8%★★★★☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202345.875 of 14548.3%★★★☆☆
202251.153 of 10147.5%★★☆☆☆
202149.3146 of 23938.9%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202354.7232 of 61762.4%★★★☆☆
202276.159 of 44486.7%★★★★☆
202179.794 of 102790.8%★★★★★

Native American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202195.811 of 65498.3%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202344.9388 of 82052.7%★★★☆☆
202177.581 of 120193.3%★★★★★
201827.0320 of 41723.3%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
202660.4150 of 43765.7%★★★☆☆
202567.8120 of 46574.2%★★★★☆
202464.4151 of 48668.9%★★★☆☆
202373.1225 of 102478.0%★★★★☆
202264.4232 of 80071.0%★★★★☆
202181.2154 of 116186.7%★★★★☆
201966.2170 of 59571.4%★★★★☆
201859.7306 of 72057.5%★★★☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArizona percentileRating
201491.928 of 69095.9%★★★★★
201385.166 of 78791.6%★★★★★
201281.699 of 77287.2%★★★★☆
201181.7104 of 68584.8%★★★★☆
201073.9164 of 69276.3%★★★★☆
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)
Elementary school
Native American (2021)98th percentile+9 vs school
English Language Learner (2021)97th percentile+7 vs school
Homeless (2021)96th percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)91st percentile+10 vs school
Hispanic (2025)78th percentile-5 vs school
Male (2026)74th percentile-7 vs school
Asian (2021)71st percentile-18 vs school
African American (2023)66th percentile-20 vs school
White (2026)66th percentile-16 vs school
Multi-racial (2023)62nd percentile-23 vs school
Female (2026)62nd percentile-20 vs school
Special Education (2023)53rd percentile-33 vs school
Military Connected (2023)48th percentile-38 vs school
Foster Care (2023)16th percentile-70 vs school
By subject vs Arizona (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts60%+19 vs state
Mathematics56%+23 vs state

3.0
5 ratings · 3 written reviews
5★2
4★0
3★1
2★0
1★2
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Open Quote If this school is an A+ rated school, I am terrified to see see what a non A+ rated school looks like in this district. We cannot make a switch soon enough. Thank God for School of Choice. These "teachers" are not teachers at all they are glorified baby sitters. Do yourself and your child a favor and check out one of the Charter Schools in the area (American Leadership Academy, Benjamin Franklin or Legacy Traditional ---- BTW all tuition FREE!!! AND Common Core FREE!!!). This school is just a facility for a bunch of "group learning" with little to no teacher involvement or instruction. Just laziness at full capacity here. They need to spend less time fund raising, ordering coordinating teacher shirts and worrying about when their next break is and spend more time teaching!!!! TO students and NOT to tests!! Wish we would have switched out of this school sooner...a complete waste of a school year for our child Close Quote


by a teacher
Thursday, December 3, 2015

Open Quote I taught at this school and felt that the teachers worked very hard and tried their best. However, we worked under a principal that did not really interact well with students and was practically a bully to its staff. They year I left so did about 1/3 of the teachers. 75% of my team chose to leave as we did not want to work with her. Mrs. Ybarra is still there so I doubt much has changed. Close Quote


by a parent
Friday, September 23, 2011

Open Quote We were very skeptical about placing our child in the Higley School District because of the many negative things we had heard. However, we thought we would give Centennial a try since it is our neighborhood school and we are so happy that we did! The prinicpal, Mrs. Ybarra, plays a strong role in holding the teachers accountable for maintaining the excelling schools status. You will find her on campus on most days and she is very involved in the daily activities. We believe that our child is thriving at Centennial-they differentiate the children based on their learning level and she is challenged everyday. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Centennial Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 588 students attended Centennial Elementary School.

Centennial Elementary School ranks 168th of 900 Arizona elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Centennial Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sossaman Middle School
High : Higley High School

Students at Centennial Elementary School are 62% White, 23% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% African American, 2% American Indian, 1% Asian.

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Latest Arizona data All new data »
2015–16 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026
2025–26 AASA test scoresNewOct 13, 2026
2024–25 dropout ratesDec 2, 2025
2024–25 graduation ratesNov 7, 2025


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.

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