Nearly 1,200 fewer students at Apache Junction Unified School District took the spring 2021 AZ Merit English language arts and math tests than in 2019, with a higher percentage not passing in 2021.
AJUSD has three elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school. The district encompasses 217 square miles from Meridian Road on the west to the town of Queen Valley on the east and from the Goldfield Mountains to the north, south into the San Tan Corridor. Communities served include Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Peralta Trail, Queen Valley and unincorporated Pinal County land in-between.
“Consistent with the districts across the state, Apache Junction USD saw a decline in student performance on the AzM2 assessments. The Arizona Department of Education reported that every grade level and content area tested showed a backslide, which is not typical historically but attributed to the COVID pandemic,” said Robyn Gonzales, AJUSD’s curriculum manager.
