Desert Hills High School
GILBERT · AZ · American Charter Schools Foundation d.b.a. Desert (79872) · Public charter
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
Great Hearts Academies - Lincoln Prep → Great Hearts Academies - Arete Prep → Leading Edge Academy Gilbert Early College → EDUPRIZE SCHOOL Gilbert → San Tan Charter School → Canyon Valley High School → Learning Foundation and Performing Arts Gilbert → Sequoia Charter School →📋 At a glance
- ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- 🎓 AP rigor: Bottom 37% of US high schools
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 48% by test-taker volume
- 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 32% (Bottom 7% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How Desert Hills High School compares for families
Solid mid-tier academic profile.
- ▸ LocallyAZ sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Great Hearts Academies - Lincoln Prep, Great Hearts Academies - Arete Prep, Leading Edge Academy Gilbert Early College and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Bottom 48% by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
Bottom 7% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
👩🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.
🏛️ Your state's public flagship
University of Arizona
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $16,674/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
Chronic absenteeism
Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of -5.7%/year, projecting from 2024's 231 students:
≈ 59 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue at risk
At $11,484 per student in district revenue, the 59 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $677,556/year in funding at risk.
District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Hearts Academies - Lincoln Prep CHANDLER |
Public · charter | 4.0 | 235 | +19.3% |
| Great Hearts Academies - Arete Prep Gilbert |
Public · charter | 4.0 | 243 | -2.8% |
| Leading Edge Academy Gilbert Early College GILBERT |
Public · charter | 2.9 | 194 | -12.6% |
| EDUPRIZE SCHOOL Gilbert GILBERT |
Public · charter | 4.6 | 202 | -14.4% |
| San Tan Charter School GILBERT |
Public · charter | 3.4 | 283 | +12.7% |
| Canyon Valley High School GILBERT |
Public | 4.9 | 266 | — |
| Learning Foundation and Performing Arts Gilbert Gilbert |
Public · charter | 3.1 | 163 | -31.2% |
| Sequoia Charter School MESA |
Public · charter | 5.6 | 295 | -17.4% |