Schools · Surprise
Surprise, AZ schools
Surprise’s public schools score above Arizona’s averages: 40% of students are proficient in reading against 38.5% statewide, and 93% of high schoolers graduate on time against 77.3%. Kids attend one of 14 schools through grade 8, then one of 17 high schools and Valley Vista High School or Shadow Ridge High School or Willow Canyon High School.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B+
Surprise’s School Grade: B+
The public schools Surprise’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 71% of Arizona’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
BTest scoresA-Graduation
Arizona school districts we grade (567)Better than 71%
Lower resultsHigher results
Arizona towns with similar household incomes (85)Better than 80%
High confidence. Built on 12,680 tested students and a graduating class of 1,991; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Arizona’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of Arizona only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in Arizona with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Surprise kids go to school
Grades 12
B-Valley Vista High School or B+Shadow Ridge High School or B+Willow Canyon High School
Depends on your address Dysart Unified DistrictBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Above the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, Dysart Unified)40%
State average 38.5%
Reading (Nadaburg Unified)37%
State average 38.5%
Math (grades PK–12, Dysart Unified)34%
State average 31.2%
Math (Nadaburg Unified)30%
State average 31.2%
Graduation · class of 2020
93% graduate on time
Graduation rate
93%
AZ: 77.3%
Graduating class
1,991
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #10 of 103 AZ towns →
Districts
Two districts serve Surprise
Dysart Unified DistrictGrades PK–12 · 25 schools · 23,078 students
$10,430 per studentAZ $12,318B+Nadaburg Unified School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 4 schools · 1,641 students
$10,708 per studentAZ $12,318BEach district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 36 schools in Surprise
Showing 1–30 of 36 schools
Legacy Traditional School - SurpriseElementary · Grades K–8 · 1,797 students
ACharterParadise Honors Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 1,264 students
A-CharterLegacy Traditional School - West SurpriseElementary · Grades K–8 · 1,231 students
ACharterCanyon Ridge SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 1,042 students
APublicMarley Park ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–8 · 1,023 students
A-PublicSunset Hills ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–8 · 877 students
B+PublicAsante Preparatory AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 876 students
B+PublicKingswood Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 826 students
BPublicCimarron Springs Middle SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 810 students
A-PublicWest Point Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 797 students
B-PublicWestern Peaks ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–8 · 763 students
B+PublicDesert Oasis Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 753 students
B+PublicCountryside Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 590 students
BPublicRancho GabrielaElementary · Grades PK–8 · 574 students
B+PublicSonoran Heights Middle SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 560 students
A-PublicCalibre Academy SurpriseElementary · Grades K–8 · 538 students
B+CharterFreedom Traditional AcademyElementary · Grades PK–8 · 529 students
APublicImagine RosefieldElementary · Grades K–5 · 521 students
ACharterAshton Ranch Middle SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 480 students
BPublicParadise Honors Middle SchoolMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 696 students
CharterImagine Surprise MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 248 students
BCharterValley Vista High SchoolHigh · Grades 7–12 · 2,334 students
B-PublicShadow Ridge High SchoolHigh · Grades 7–12 · 2,212 students
B+PublicWillow Canyon High SchoolHigh · Grades 7–12 · 1,901 students
B+PublicParadise Honors High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,028 students
BCharterHighland PrepHigh · Grades 9–12 · 505 students
A-CharterThrivePoint High School at SurpriseHigh · Grades 9–12 · 323 students
C+CharterImagine Prep SurpriseHigh · Grades 9–12 · 251 students
C+CharterNorthwest CampusHigh · Grades 10–12 · 40 students
PublicWest-MEC - Shadow Ridge High SchoolHigh · Grades 9–12 · 2 students
PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.