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Santa Cruz Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6

745^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 909 Arizona Elementary Schools

Better than 18% of Arizona elementary schools

Summary

Santa Cruz Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 852 students in grades PK-6 in Maricopa, Arizona, which is part of the Maricopa Unified School District. While the school has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, it has consistently ranked in the bottom 40-60% of Arizona elementary schools over the past several years and struggles to meet state academic performance standards.

Santa Cruz Elementary's students perform significantly below state averages on standardized tests, with only 27% of 3rd graders proficient in ELA and Math, compared to state averages of 36% and 42% respectively. The school also faces challenges in serving its student subgroups effectively, with performance gaps between different demographic groups. Additionally, the school has seen a significant increase in its free/reduced lunch rate, rising from 20.39% in 2021-2022 to 58.9% in 2022-2023, indicating a growing population of economically disadvantaged students.

Interestingly, the other elementary schools in the Maricopa Unified School District, such as Maricopa Elementary, Butterfield Elementary, and Saddleback Elementary, generally perform better than Santa Cruz Elementary on state assessments and have higher statewide rankings. For example, Pima Butte Elementary, the highest-ranked school in the district, had 55% of 5th graders proficient in Science compared to Santa Cruz's 24%. This suggests that factors beyond just staffing and funding may be contributing to Santa Cruz Elementary's underperformance.

941

Students ?

18.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,872

Per pupil spending ?

58.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

19845 N Costa Del Sol
Maricopa, AZ 85138-5431

(520) 568-5170

District: Maricopa Unified School District

Students who attend Santa Cruz Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Desert Wind Middle School
High:	Maricopa High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

52.5%

African American:

18.3%

White:

16.6%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 40th percentile in 2015 → 18th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (26% vs 39% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg30%

Arizona avg39%

745^th of 909

Arizona public elementary schools ?

Bottom 18%▼ down 22 pts since 2015

From bottom 40% (2015) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Maricopa Unified School District

225^th of 289Maricopa 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	17.3	745 of 909	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.5	660 of 912	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.0	692 of 1245	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.1	690 of 1000	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.6	626 of 1226	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.6	600 of 1039	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	58.7	425 of 1109	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	34.7	690 of 1106	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2016	21.5	863 of 1079	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	34.8	569 of 955	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	45.6	590 of 1079	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	33.5	853 of 1158	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	46.0	650 of 1141	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	53.6	486 of 1075	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2010	45.0	592 of 1090	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	35.1	714 of 1062	32.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	30.8	449 of 607	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	38.6	517 of 895	42.2%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	27.0	519 of 620	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	25.5	323 of 451	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	38.9	826 of 975	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	9.3	556 of 589	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.1	557 of 602	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	31.5	781 of 1219	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.6	707 of 824	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	45.8	589 of 1219	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	31.3	564 of 862	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	62.5	369 of 1023	63.9%	★★★☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2022	33.3	24 of 25	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	48.6	89 of 306	70.9%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	19.1	418 of 496	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.5	376 of 486	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.8	621 of 1170	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.3	452 of 716	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	50.4	505 of 1198	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	44.0	363 of 709	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	61.5	297 of 911	67.4%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	16.6	502 of 549	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	511 of 556	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	43.1	593 of 1116	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.3	511 of 618	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	60.8	269 of 820	67.2%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	6.5	612 of 626	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	550 of 628	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.7	626 of 1216	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.6	595 of 830	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	40.3	663 of 1220	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	26.8	594 of 850	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.8	453 of 1032	56.1%	★★★☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	32.3	120 of 145	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	51.4	52 of 101	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	50.1	135 of 239	43.5%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	32.2	488 of 617	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.5	423 of 444	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	36.9	655 of 1027	36.2%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	24.2	160 of 219	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	48.4	215 of 654	67.1%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	19.5	755 of 820	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	43.4	565 of 1201	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.2	52 of 417	87.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	4.9	456 of 465	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	387 of 486	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.6	626 of 1024	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	46.5	615 of 1161	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.3	469 of 595	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	56.8	336 of 720	53.3%	★★★☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2023)28th percentile-16 vs school

Native American (2023)27th percentile-17 vs school

African American (2023)26th percentile-18 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)21st percentile-24 vs school

Military Connected (2023)17th percentile-27 vs school

Asian (2021)16th percentile-33 vs school

Hispanic (2025)16th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile-9 vs school

Special Education (2023)8th percentile-36 vs school

Female (2025)6th percentile-12 vs school

Foster Care (2022)4th percentile-27 vs school

Male (2025)2nd percentile-16 vs school

White (2025)2nd percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts28%-12 vs state

Science24%-10 vs state

Mathematics24%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Santa Cruz Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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
Santa Cruz Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	19845 N Costa Del Sol	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-5170	941	52	18.0		156 (16.6%)	172 (18.3%)	494 (52.5%)	14 (1.5%)	25 (2.7%)	4 (0.4%)	76 (8.1%)	17.3	745^th of 909 public elementary schools	18.0%		22.5	660^th of 912 public elementary schools	27.6%	85	27.0	35.0	22.0				27.0	24.0	21.0				24.0		$10,872	$379	$993	$1,751	$8,449	$1,051	$9,500
Leading Edge Academy Maricopa	Public, Charter	K-8	18700 N Porter Rd	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Leading Edge Academy Maricopa	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-7800	872	56	15.6		247 (28.3%)	131 (15.0%)	389 (44.6%)	16 (1.8%)	16 (1.8%)	6 (0.7%)	67 (7.7%)	36.2	499^th of 909 public elementary schools	45.1%		43	452^nd of 912 public elementary schools	50.4%	47	41.0	52.0	32.0	31.0	32.0	40.0	58.0	38.0	22.0	23.0	15.0	16.0	24.0	23.0		$00			$00
Saddleback Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	18600 N Porter Rd	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 568-6110	811	62	13.1		174 (21.5%)	105 (12.9%)	377 (46.5%)	12 (1.5%)	66 (8.1%)	6 (0.7%)	71 (8.8%)	17	747^th of 909 public elementary schools	17.8%		19.8	701^st of 912 public elementary schools	23.1%	46	22.0	32.0	22.0				36.0	21.0	24.0				21.0		$11,859	$571	$990	$2,132	$9,312	$987	$10,299
Pima Butte Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	42202 W Rancho El Dorado Pkwy	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-7150	407	26	15.9		146 (35.9%)	43 (10.6%)	156 (38.3%)	12 (2.9%)	7 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (10.6%)	52.6	368^th of 909 public elementary schools	59.5%		42.5	459^th of 912 public elementary schools	49.7%	91	43.0	42.0	54.0				37.0	32.0	49.0				55.0		$10,102	$238	$964	$1,439	$7,768	$1,133	$8,901
Santa Rosa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	21400 N Santa Rosa Dr	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-6150	527	30	17.5		123 (23.3%)	91 (17.3%)	256 (48.6%)	7 (1.3%)	5 (0.9%)	4 (0.8%)	41 (7.8%)	41	462^nd of 909 public elementary schools	49.2%		41.4	469^th of 912 public elementary schools	48.6%	7	34.0	52.0	51.0				29.0	36.0	28.0				40.0		$12,064	$598	$1,011	$2,207	$9,365	$1,090	$10,455
Butterfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	43800 W Honeycutt Rd	Maricopa	85138	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-6100	920	59	15.7		211 (22.9%)	146 (15.9%)	426 (46.3%)	29 (3.2%)	17 (1.8%)	12 (1.3%)	79 (8.6%)	23.3	649^th of 909 public elementary schools	28.6%		38.1	494^th of 912 public elementary schools	45.8%	155	21.0	37.0	28.0				35.0	28.0	29.0				30.0		$10,473	$312	$998	$1,622	$8,154	$1,009	$9,163
Casa Blanca Community School	Public	K-5	5297 W Nelson Rd	Bapchule	85121	Pinal County	Casa Blanca Community School	(n/a)	No	No	Yes	(520) 315-3489	302	29	10.4	99.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	302 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Maricopa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	18150 N Alterra Pkwy	Maricopa	85139	Pinal County	Maricopa Unified School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 568-5160	883	56	15.7		184 (20.8%)	115 (13.0%)	428 (48.5%)	27 (3.1%)	47 (5.3%)	4 (0.5%)	78 (8.8%)	22.8	662^nd of 909 public elementary schools	27.2%		14	803^rd of 912 public elementary schools	12.0%	141	29.0	28.0	26.0				40.0	31.0	18.0				30.0		$11,519	$820	$1,013	$2,652	$8,697	$989	$9,686
Sacaton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	92 Skill Center Rd	Sacaton	85147	Pinal County	Sacaton Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 562-8600	259	26	9.9		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (16.6%)	1 (0.4%)	203 (78.4%)	1 (0.4%)	11 (4.2%)								(n/a)							21.0								$15,739	$3,600	$2,831	$10,031	$9,118	$190	$9,308
Stanfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	515 S Stanfield Rd	Stanfield	85172	Pinal County	Stanfield Elementary District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 424-3353	365	20	18.2		52 (14.2%)	2 (0.5%)	260 (71.2%)	5 (1.4%)	44 (12.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)								(n/a)															$11,908	$1,449	$1,985	$4,882	$6,621	$1,853	$8,474

Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Cruz Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Santa Cruz Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Santa Cruz Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Desert Wind Middle School
High : Maricopa High School

Is Santa Cruz Elementary School a good school?

Santa Cruz Elementary School ranks in the bottom 18.0% of Arizona elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Santa Cruz Elementary School?

Students at Santa Cruz Elementary School are 52% Hispanic, 18% African American, 17% White, 8% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 1% Asian.

What district is Santa Cruz Elementary School in?

Maricopa Unified School District

How many students attend Santa Cruz Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 941 students attended Santa Cruz Elementary School.

Rate Santa Cruz Elementary School!

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Latest Arizona data All new data »

2024–25 dropout ratesDec 2, 2025

2024–25 graduation ratesNov 7, 2025

2024–25 AASA & AzSCI test scoresOct 10, 2025

2023–24 dropout ratesJun 30, 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.