It was established in 1927 and is the only high school within the city limits of Tolleson.

In the 2006–2007 school year, Tolleson received an AZ LEARNS achievement profile of Performing Plus from the Arizona Department of Education, which is "an informal recognition of schools that have shown improvement ... but do not have a sufficient number of students exceeding the standard".

Acceptance to the program is determined primarily by various academic scores.

Recently, ASU has been working closely with the staff to provide maximum support for its gifted students.

Dr. Josh Dean was the Operations Administrator and founder of University High.