Cherokee Elementary School vs Kiva Elementary School

Kiva Elementary School edges Cherokee Elementary School in overall rating by 0.2 points — 9.5 versus 9.3 out of 10 — but the more meaningful separation shows up in Arizona state rankings. Kiva Elementary School sits at #10 of 2002 schools statewide, while Cherokee Elementary School ranks #19 of 2002. Both numbers place these schools in the top 1% in Arizona, so the gap is narrow in absolute terms but real when parents are choosing between two schools just 3.3 miles apart.

The academic scores tell a different story than the overall ratings. Cherokee Elementary School scores 9.8/10 on academics versus Kiva Elementary School's 9.5/10 — a three-tenths advantage that suggests Cherokee's tested proficiency performance is marginally stronger. Growth scores are nearly identical: Kiva Elementary School at 9.4/10 versus Cherokee Elementary School at 9.3/10, a difference too small to drive a decision on its own. Parents prioritizing current proficiency levels will find Cherokee's academic score the sharpest differentiator between the two campuses.

Cherokee Elementary School enrolls 673 students compared to Kiva Elementary School's 562, a difference of 111 students. The student-teacher ratio gap is more consequential: Kiva Elementary School runs at 14.8 students per teacher versus Cherokee Elementary School's 18.7:1 — nearly four fewer students per classroom on average. For families who weight smaller class sizes and greater individual attention, that delta is the most concrete structural difference between these two schools.

On grade span, the two schools diverge slightly. Cherokee Elementary School serves grades PK through 5, while Kiva Elementary School extends through grade 6, meaning Kiva students spend one additional year before transitioning to middle school. Families with a sixth-grader — or those who prefer delaying the middle school environment — will find Kiva the only option of the two. For PK through fifth-grade families, both campuses are fully eligible.