Best Schools: Scottsdale Unified Named No. 5 In State

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — The latest school rankings released by the data analysis company Niche put Scottsdale Unified School District at No. 5 in the state.

Niche, which released its eighth annual version of the rankings on Monday, looks at a variety of criteria in determining a grade for both public and private K-12 schools in the Valley and across the state, including academics, teachers and diversity.

Here are the top five school districts in the state:

1. Heritage Academy in Mesa, A+
2. Catalina Foothills Unified School District in Tucson, A+
3. Chandler Unified School District, A
4. Vail Unified School District, A
5. Scottsdale Unified School District, A

"It's a great rating and we should take pride in it,” said Jann-Michael Greenburg, president of the Scottsdale Unified school Board. “I think it reflects the academic talent we have in our district, not just from staff, who are amazing, but also our students and the involvement of our parents.”

Greenburg also believes the No. 5 ranking is in part due to the local community's support, through voter approval of both overrides to state budget limits and bonds to pay for capital improvements.

Even though Greenburg is pleased to be ranked one of the top school districts in the state, he still has bigger goals for Scottsdale Unified.

"Obviously our goal is to be No. 1 in Arizona and No. 1 in the United States, so as proud as I am of this accomplishment I think it also leaves the door open for improvement,” he said.

This year the district is working on concrete ways to measure progress toward its goals and to hold itself accountable, Greenburg said.

Last year 43 percent of Scottsdale Unified juniors met the college and career readiness benchmarks as indicated by the ACT, a test that all juniors take. While that score is higher than the national average and outpaces many districts in the Phoenix area, Scottsdale Unified has a goal of 48 percent of students reaching those benchmarks this year.

Scottsdale Unified, like many other districts in the Valley and across the country, has faced some animosity from parents this year over things like mask mandates and the way it teaches students about history and race.

“I think in general this demonstrates that regardless of where you might fall on public health requirements, our schools are well-attended, they’re well-liked, they’re well-respected," Greenburg said. "People see them as a place they want to be."

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Here are the top 20 school districts in the Phoenix metro area per the Niche list:

1. Heritage Academy in Mesa, A+
2. Chandler Unified School District, A
3. Scottsdale Unified School District, A
4. Gilbert Public Schools, A-
5. Choice Academies in Phoenix, A-
6. Peoria Unified School District in Glendale, A-
7. Paradise Valley Unified School District, A-
8. Eduprize Schools in Queen Creek, A-
9. Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, A-
10. Fountain Hills Unified School District, A-
11. Glendale Union High School, B+
12. Higley Unified School District in Gilbert, B+
13. Tempe Union High School District, B+
14. Desert Heights Charter School in Glendale, B+
15. Cave Creek Unified School District in Scottsdale, B+
16. Mesa Unified School District, B+
17. Agua Fria Union High School in Avondale, B+
18. Queen Creek Unified School District, B+
19. Buckeye Union High School, B
20. Portable Practical Education Preparation Inc. in Phoenix, B

Niche said its 2022 best schools rankings offer a more “personal” view of schools than its rankings in recent years. Significantly less importance was placed on SAT and ACT scores this year, Niche said. Any factor in its methodology that is related to test scores was reduced by one third.

The company combined ratings from students, alumni and parents with quantitative data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources to evaluate teachers, resources, facility, extracurricular activity opportunities and other factors. Read more about the methodology here.

Across the country, Niche ranked 94,491 public schools, 2,489 private schools and 11,846 school districts to come up with its lists and rankings.

Top 5 Public High Schools:

1. The Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada
2. The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
3. Massachusetts Academy for Math & Science School
4. Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Virginia
5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Virginia

Top 5 Private High Schools:

1. Phillips Academy in Massachusetts
2. The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut
3. Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut
4. The College Preparatory School in California
5. Groton School in Massachusetts

Top 5 School Districts:

1. Adlai E. Stevenson High School District in Illinois
2. Glenbrook High School District in Illinois
3. Great Neck Public Schools in New York
4. Community High School District 128 in Illinois
5. Jericho Union Free School District in New York

See the full Niche rankings here