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Salk Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6

788^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 909 Arizona Elementary Schools

Better than 13% of Arizona elementary schools

Summary

Salk Elementary School is a public elementary school in Mesa, Arizona, serving 540 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Mesa Unified District, which is ranked 177 out of 289 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Salk Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Arizona elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past decade, indicating it is performing significantly below average. The school's academic performance is particularly low, with only 24-30% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and Mathematics, compared to 38-46% for the district and state. Salk's performance is especially concerning in Mathematics, with only 14-25% of students achieving proficiency, compared to 30-40% for the district and state. The school also struggles to support the academic achievement of various student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 30% of Arizona elementary schools for African American, Hispanic, and White students, and in the bottom 10% and 15% for Native American and Pacific Islander students, respectively.

While the nearby Las Sendas Elementary and Bush Elementary schools significantly outperform Salk Elementary, some other nearby schools, such as Jefferson Elementary and Falcon Hill Elementary, also struggle with low academic performance, suggesting broader challenges within the Mesa Unified District. Salk Elementary's high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds may be a contributing factor to its low performance, and the school will need to implement more effective instructional strategies and provide additional support to improve student outcomes.

494

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,686

Per pupil spending ?

68.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

7029 E Brown Rd
Mesa, AZ 85207-3707

(480) 472-8400

District: Mesa Unified District

Students who attend Salk Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Fremont Junior High School
High:	Red Mountain High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

51.2%

White:

28.3%

African American:

8.9%

See top rated Arizona elementary schools

Compare Salk Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 23rd percentile in 2015 → 13th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arizona average (25% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 10 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school25%

District avg41%

Arizona avg42%

788^th of 909

Arizona public elementary schools ?

Bottom 13%▼ down 10 pts since 2015

From bottom 23% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

46^th of 51Elementary Schools in the Mesa Unified District

177^th of 289Mesa 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	14.9	788 of 909	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.8	725 of 912	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.0	785 of 1245	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	12.8	885 of 1000	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.5	861 of 1226	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.8	882 of 1039	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	905 of 1109	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.7	860 of 1106	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	25.0	815 of 1079	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.3	731 of 955	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	47.8	567 of 1079	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	51.7	571 of 1158	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	52.4	540 of 1141	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2011	49.9	525 of 1075	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2010	54.5	487 of 1090	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	55.3	480 of 1062	54.8%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	40.4	369 of 607	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	8.6	283 of 289	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	41.3	458 of 895	48.8%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	36.6	226 of 451	49.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.3	545 of 975	44.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	28.8	830 of 1219	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.5	846 of 1219	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	18.9	706 of 862	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.6	890 of 1023	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	52.5	76 of 306	75.2%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	32.1	786 of 1170	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.5	942 of 1198	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.3	577 of 709	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.8	761 of 911	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	45.3	168 of 423	60.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2024	27.3	408 of 556	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.7	605 of 1116	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.9	534 of 618	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.0	693 of 820	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	33.5	760 of 1216	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	27.0	860 of 1220	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.9	757 of 850	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.0	803 of 1032	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	41.8	20 of 37	45.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	28.4	58 of 60	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	22.1	553 of 617	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.5	873 of 1027	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	27.7	628 of 654	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2021	22.0	146 of 171	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	22.2	714 of 820	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	35.6	747 of 1201	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.2	315 of 417	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	19.7	890 of 1024	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	33.0	819 of 1161	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.3	566 of 595	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	670 of 720	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Foster Care (2021)75th percentile+45 vs school

Homeless (2021)60th percentile+31 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)50th percentile+13 vs school

Migrant (2023)46th percentile+9 vs school

African American (2023)39th percentile~ school

Male (2023)38th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2023)33rd percentile-4 vs school

Female (2023)32nd percentile-5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)27th percentile+6 vs school

Pacific Islander (2021)15th percentile-15 vs school

White (2023)13th percentile-24 vs school

Special Education (2023)13th percentile-24 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)10th percentile-27 vs school

Native American (2021)4th percentile-26 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics26%-14 vs state

English Language Arts24%-19 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, May 11, 2017

My kids get bullied and nothing is done glad they didn't go the whole year here Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, November 15, 2016

What these numbers do not reveal is that the previous school administration "cooked the books" by actively excluding special needs children from the way test scores were reported. The apparent down-tick in scores in the plot provided actually represents a recent improvement in the performance of students across the board. Close Quote

Schools Near Salk 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
Salk Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	7029 E Brown Rd	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8400	494	31	15.9		140 (28.3%)	44 (8.9%)	253 (51.2%)	7 (1.4%)	15 (3.0%)	2 (0.4%)	33 (6.7%)	14.9	788^th of 909 public elementary schools	13.3%		18.8	725^th of 912 public elementary schools	20.5%	63		24.0		25.0			30.0		21.0						$8,686	$962	$47	$1,971	$7,558	$119	$7,677
Falcon Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1645 N Sterling	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8600	544	34	16.2		307 (56.4%)	12 (2.2%)	173 (31.8%)	5 (0.9%)	9 (1.7%)	6 (1.1%)	32 (5.9%)	39.7	472^nd of 909 public elementary schools	48.1%		26.8	614^th of 912 public elementary schools	32.7%	142	38.0	38.0	34.0	44.0			49.0	34.0	40.0	23.0			40.0		$9,634	$874	$25	$1,772	$8,552	$184	$8,736
Mendoza Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	5831 E McLellan Rd	Mesa	85205	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-2000	402	25	15.9		242 (60.2%)	12 (3.0%)	117 (29.1%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	22 (5.5%)	45.3	432^nd of 909 public elementary schools	52.5%		50.6	404^th of 912 public elementary schools	55.7%	28	50.0	39.0	35.0	49.0			38.0	37.0	42.0	24.0			50.0		$10,864	$841	$142	$1,824	$9,496	$385	$9,881
Jefferson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	120 S Jefferson Ave	Mesa	85208	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8700	554	33	16.8		91 (16.4%)	28 (5.1%)	409 (73.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.6%)	17.3	744^th of 909 public elementary schools	18.2%		17.5	747^th of 912 public elementary schools	18.1%	3	19.0	23.0	16.0	24.0			28.0	25.0	46.0	18.0			18.0		$10,586	$1,087	$228	$2,402	$8,875	$395	$9,271
Pathfinder Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2906 N Boulder Canyon	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Edkey Inc. - Pathfinder Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 986-7071	554	30	18.4		473 (85.4%)	2 (0.4%)	54 (9.7%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.4%)	85.4	113^th of 909 public elementary schools	87.6%		91.1	66^th of 912 public elementary schools	92.8%	47	58.0	82.0	58.0	69.0	65.0	65.0	70.0	75.0	65.0	58.0	67.0	73.0	44.0	54.0	$6,678	$129	$272	$530	$4,199	$2,079	$6,278
Las Sendas Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	3120 N Red Mtn	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 472-8725	645	37	17.2		486 (75.3%)	6 (0.9%)	112 (17.4%)	10 (1.6%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	25 (3.9%)	93.5	46^th of 909 public elementary schools	94.9%		93.1	50^th of 912 public elementary schools	94.5%	4	79.0	77.0	60.0	79.0			83.0	81.0	72.0	76.0			56.0		$7,040	$145	$06	$296	$6,527	$363	$6,890
Bush Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	4925 E Ingram St	Mesa	85205	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8500	524	35	15.1		353 (67.4%)	9 (1.7%)	122 (23.3%)	7 (1.3%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (5.2%)	60.1	320^th of 909 public elementary schools	64.8%		51.8	393^rd of 912 public elementary schools	56.9%	73	47.0	47.0	46.0	57.0			53.0	39.0	55.0	53.0			36.0		$9,394	$653	$39	$1,346	$8,400	$301	$8,701
O'Connor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4840 E Adobe St	Mesa	85205	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-7877	386	22	17.5		173 (44.8%)	17 (4.4%)	158 (40.9%)	7 (1.8%)	5 (1.3%)	3 (0.8%)	23 (6.0%)	22.9	658^th of 909 public elementary schools	27.6%		26.1	621^st of 912 public elementary schools	31.9%	37	24.0	28.0					39.0								$9,334	$1,025	$69	$2,120	$7,827	$411	$8,239
Cambridge Academy East	Public, Charter	K-8	9412 E Brown Rd	Mesa	85207	Maricopa County	Cambridge Academy East Inc	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(480) 641-2828	242	10	24.2		157 (64.9%)	8 (3.3%)	69 (28.5%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.5%)								(n/a)		41.0													$5,899	$485	$300	$1,270	$3,894	$1,220	$5,114
Madison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	849 S Sunnyvale	Mesa	85206	Maricopa County	Mesa Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(480) 472-8800	374	28	13.3		159 (42.5%)	22 (5.9%)	168 (44.9%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	13 (3.5%)	35.5	507^th of 909 public elementary schools	44.2%		34	535^th of 912 public elementary schools	41.3%	28	20.0	42.0	42.0	34.0			29.0	40.0	68.0	22.0			27.0		$10,954	$1,069	$68	$2,206	$9,273	$544	$9,817

Frequently Asked Questions about Salk Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of Salk Elementary School?

Students at Salk Elementary School are 51% Hispanic, 28% White, 9% African American, 7% Two or more races, 3% American Indian, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Salk Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Fremont Junior High School
High : Red Mountain High School

What district is Salk Elementary School in?

Mesa Unified District

Is Salk Elementary School a good school?

Salk Elementary School ranks in the bottom 13.3% of Arizona elementary schools.

How many students attend Salk Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 494 students attended Salk Elementary School.

Rate Salk 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.