Summary:
The city of Ajo, Arizona is home to two schools - Ajo Elementary School and Ajo High School, both part of the Ajo Unified District. While the high school performs better academically, both schools face significant challenges, with low test scores, high dropout rates, and a majority of students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Ajo Elementary School is the lower-performing of the two, ranking 1163 out of 1245 Arizona elementary schools and earning a 0 out of 5 star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's proficiency rates in core subjects like Science, English Language Arts, and Mathematics are well below the state averages, and it has a high dropout rate of 3.7%. In contrast, Ajo High School performs better, ranking 219 out of 469 Arizona high schools with a 3 out of 5 star rating. However, the high school still struggles with a high dropout rate of 8.3% and mixed academic performance, with some test scores above and some below the state averages.
Both schools serve a predominantly Hispanic student population, with over 70% of students identifying as Hispanic. Additionally, a significant majority of students at both schools - 74.63% at the elementary school and 68.15% at the high school - receive free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage in the community. Despite the high per-student spending at both schools, the data suggests that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution, and a more comprehensive approach addressing the root causes of the challenges is necessary to drive meaningful improvements in the Ajo school system.
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