Desert Trails Elementary School

Summary:

Desert Trails Elementary School is a highly-rated public elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona, serving 613 students from pre-kindergarten through 7th grade. As part of the Paradise Valley Unified District, the school consistently outperforms the district and the state of Arizona in academic achievement, with impressive standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas.

In the 2023-2024 school year, 77% of 3rd graders, 84% of 4th graders, 78% of 5th graders, and 83% of 6th graders at Desert Trails Elementary School were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the district averages of 53%, 58%, 52%, and 57%, respectively. The school's performance is even more impressive in mathematics, with 83% of 3rd graders, 74% of 4th graders, 88% of 5th graders, and 80% of 6th graders scoring proficient or better, compared to the district averages of 59%, 52%, 48%, and 46%. This exceptional academic performance has earned Desert Trails Elementary School a statewide ranking of 12 out of 904 schools in the 2023-2024 school year, placing it in the top 1-3% of elementary schools in Arizona.

Despite its high academic achievement, Desert Trails Elementary School has a relatively low percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, at only 9.95% in the 2022-2023 school year, significantly lower than the Paradise Valley Unified District and state averages. Additionally, the school's per-student spending of $8,573 in the 2021-2022 school year was lower than the state average of $9,273 in 2018-2019, making its exceptional performance even more impressive.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-7

 4315 E Cashman Dr
       Phoenix, AZ  85050-8733


(602) 449-4100

District: Paradise Valley Unified District

SchoolDigger Rank:
12th of 904 Arizona Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $8,573 Help


Students who attend Desert Trails Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Explorer Middle School
High:    Pinnacle High School

Student/teacher ratio:  14.9 Help
Number of students:  613

Racial breakdown:

White:
75.5%
Hispanic:
9.5%
Asian:
7.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  10% Help


 See top rated Arizona elementary schools

 Compare Desert Trails Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
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Compare Details Desert Trails Elementary School ranks better than 98.7% of elementary schools in Arizona. It also ranks first among 25 ranked elementary schools in the Paradise Valley Unified District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 97.39. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (75.5%), Hispanic (9.5%), Asian (7.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 10% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Desert Trails Elementary School is 14.9. 20 elementary schools in the Paradise Valley Unified District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
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Compare Desert Trails Elementary School employs 41 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Desert Trails Elementary School is $8,573. 19 elementary schools in the Paradise Valley Unified District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Desert Trails Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Desert Trails Elementary School 12th of 904 Arizona public elementary schools. (See Desert Trails Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Paradise Valley Unified District:

SchoolDigger ranks Paradise Valley Unified District 108th of 288 Arizona school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Desert Trails Elementary School?

Rank History for Desert Trails Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2009 87.29 83rd 1062 92.2%
2010 88.34 86th 1090 92.1%
2011 87.15 94th 1075 91.3%
2012 84.31 117th 1141 89.7%
2013 89.48 47th 1158 95.9%
2014 89.84 75th 1079 93.0%
2015 85.57 114th 955 88.1%
2016 95.02 35th 1079 96.8%
2017 96.91 16th 1106 98.6%
2018 95.43 26th 1109 97.7%
2019 95.82 22nd 1039 97.9%
2021 96.07 37th 1226 97.0%
2022 93.02 34th 1000 96.6%
2023 97.62 16th 1245 98.7%
2024 97.39 12th 904 98.7%
See the entire list of Arizona Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 88.73 25th 1027 97.6%
2022 59.89 158th 444 64.4%
2023 93.35 5th 617 99.2%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 76.69 75th 451 83.4%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 84.79 49th 1201 95.9%
2022 77.02 35th 145 75.9%
2023 66.48 163rd 820 80.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 70.77 166th 618 73.1%
2023 90.46 48th 1116 95.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 95.69 16th 1023 98.4%
2019 92.79 33rd 862 96.2%
2021 93.92 41st 1219 96.6%
2022 88.41 49th 824 94.1%
2023 94.90 35th 1219 97.1%
2024 92.93 21st 593 96.5%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 93.40 54th 1032 94.8%
2019 93.71 27th 850 96.8%
2021 96.31 23rd 1220 98.1%
2022 92.13 20th 830 97.6%
2023 98.26 9th 1216 99.3%
2024 96.43 7th 609 98.9%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 75.06 93rd 620 85.0%
2022 60.73 97th 270 64.1%
2023 80.77 39th 316 87.7%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 61.51 177th 895 80.2%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 88.45 78th 1198 93.5%
2022 93.12 25th 716 96.5%
2023 94.58 29th 1170 97.5%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Desert Trails Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools AZ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 91.18 26th 720 96.4%
2019 91.21 15th 595 97.5%
2021 88.66 47th 1161 96.0%
2022 86.08 46th 800 94.3%
2023 91.45 28th 1024 97.3%
2024 91.58 14th 477 97.1%
See the entire list of Best Arizona Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Arizona Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Desert Trails Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Arizona Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 2.3)
33%

0%

0%

0%

67%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Monday, June 10, 2019

Open Quote This school was a nightmare for my daughter and my family. They do not care about your child, they care about their rankings. The place is run by crazy helicopter parents and the teachers and administration plays favorites. They wanted to place my above average IQ daughter in a self contained special ed class, and refused to address her learning difference and anxiety - caused by her awful experience. Kids are entitled, my child learned nothing, understaffed, playground is unsafe... I could go on and on. We moved to a new district and I am blown away by how great a school and district can be! Stay away from Desert Trails Close Quote


by a parent
Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Open Quote This school has a dedicated teachers, a great principal and strong PTO. My children have been attending for 6 years and they love their school! Close Quote


by a parent
Friday, August 24, 2012

Open Quote I chose Desert Trails because it was suppose to be one of the best elementary schools in the PV school district. It has not been the case at all. I have been continually disappointed with the school as a whole and the administration is not effective at all. There is a lack of leadership all the way around. My son has been labeled special needs, when in fact he is not. I have even had outside testing done. Any gains he has made is because I am doing it at home, not because the teachers are teaching him. Disappointed by the whole experience. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Desert Trails Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1998 508 6 8 23 2 n/a n/a 0 547
1999 689 10 13 24 3 n/a n/a 0 739
2000 743 13 16 25 5 n/a n/a 0 802
2001 752 11 17 29 4 n/a n/a 0 813
2002 789 15 24 41 5 n/a n/a 0 874
2003 789 15 24 41 5 n/a n/a 0 874
2004 806 13 24 49 6 n/a n/a 0 898
2005 766 15 28 57 6 n/a n/a 0 872
2006 815 16 27 56 2 n/a n/a 0 916
2007 523 6 29 41 3 n/a n/a 0 602
2008 497 15 29 45 5 n/a n/a 0 591
2009 490 14 29 54 2 n/a n/a 0 589
2010 431 13 26 54 3 n/a n/a 0 527
2011 432 11 27 63 2 0 10 0 545
2012 430 20 19 68 4 0 18 0 559
2013 398 15 16 57 2 2 18 0 508
2014 378 10 9 64 1 2 19 0 483
2015 392 19 21 64 3 2 24 0 525
2016 430 18 32 59 3 2 26 0 570
2017 408 18 26 67 3 0 36 0 558
2018 441 14 26 58 5 1 31 0 576
2019 461 11 33 62 4 0 28 0 599
2020 466 16 34 52 4 1 38 0 611
2021 433 12 32 54 1 0 36 0 568
2022 430 11 42 53 2 0 28 0 566
2023 463 8 44 58 1 0 39 0 613

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Desert Trails Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 547 25.4 21.5 n/a
1999 739 32.9 22.5 n/a
2000 802 37.6 21.3 n/a
2001 813 39.3 20.7 n/a
2002 874 41.6 21.0 3.4
2003 874 41.6 21.0 3.4
2004 898 41.8 21.5 4.8
2005 872 41.8 20.9 4.4
2006 916 45.8 20.0 3.7
2007 602 32.4 18.6 3.8
2008 591 32.4 18.2 5.8
2009 589 28.6 20.6 7.1
2010 527 26.5 19.8 7.4
2011 545 29.0 18.7 6.8
2012 559 28.0 19.9 10.4
2013 508 26.4 19.1 15.6
2014 483 30.0 16.1 2.3
2015 525 33.0 15.9 7.4
2016 570 38.0 15.0 7.4
2017 558 39.0 14.3 8.4
2018 576 36.0 16.0 5.9
2019 599 39.0 15.3 8.7
2020 611 41.3 14.7 5.9
2021 568 39.9 14.2 n/a
2022 566 41.3 13.6 5.1
2023 613 41.0 14.9 10

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Desert Trails Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1998 547 25.4 21.5 n/a
1999 739 32.9 22.5 n/a
2000 802 37.6 21.3 n/a
2001 813 39.3 20.7 n/a
2002 874 41.6 21.0 3.4
2003 874 41.6 21.0 3.4
2004 898 41.8 21.5 4.8
2005 872 41.8 20.9 4.4
2006 916 45.8 20.0 3.7
2007 602 32.4 18.6 3.8
2008 591 32.4 18.2 5.8
2009 589 28.6 20.6 7.1
2010 527 26.5 19.8 7.4
2011 545 29.0 18.7 6.8
2012 559 28.0 19.9 10.4
2013 508 26.4 19.1 15.6
2014 483 30.0 16.1 2.3
2015 525 33.0 15.9 7.4
2016 570 38.0 15.0 7.4
2017 558 39.0 14.3 8.4
2018 576 36.0 16.0 5.9
2019 599 39.0 15.3 8.7
2020 611 41.3 14.7 5.9
2021 568 39.9 14.2 n/a
2022 566 41.3 13.6 5.1
2023 613 41.0 14.9 10

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Desert Trails Elementary School

Help

YearPersonnel Expenditures from Federal FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from Federal FundsTotal Expenditures from Federal FundsPersonnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $86 (0.9%) $51 (0.5%) $223 (2.4%) $7,404 (79.8%) $1,732 (18.7%) $9,136 (98.5%) $9,273
2020 $00 (0.0%) n/a n/a $6,748 (93.5%) $466 (6.5%) $7,215 (100.0%) $7,215
2021 $1,219 (16.0%) $28 (0.4%) $2,465 (32.3%) $5,707 (74.9%) $666 (8.7%) $6,374 (83.6%) $7,620
2022 $387 (4.5%) $135 (1.6%) $908 (10.6%) $7,715 (90.0%) $337 (3.9%) $8,052 (93.9%) $8,573

Data source: Arizona Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Desert Trails Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 22nd of 1039 Elementary schoolsRanks 16th of 1245 Elementary schools
 0.8%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students599613
 2.3%
African American118
 27.3%
American Indian41
 75%
Asian3344
 33.3%
Hispanic6258
 6.5%
Pacific Islander00
White461463
 0.4%
Two or More Races2839
 39.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients8.7%10%
 1.3%


Schools Near Desert Trails Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Desert Trails Elementary School

Students who attend Desert Trails Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Explorer Middle School
High : Pinnacle High School

Yes! Desert Trails Elementary School is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 12th of 904 Arizona elementary schools.

In the 2022-23 school year, 613 students attended Desert Trails Elementary School.

Students at Desert Trails Elementary School are 76% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 6% Two or more races, 1% African American.


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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.





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