By Eileen Sigmund and Ildi Laczko-Kerr
Arizona issued its 2017 “A-F” letter grades for public schools – district and charters- last week for the first time since 2014. Here’s what you need to know about these grades:
- The State of Arizona initially instituted an “A-F” rating system in order to provide parents and families with easy-to-understand information about the relative performance of public schools across our state. This year, for the first time, the State significantly altered this formula to one that more heavily emphasizes the improvement and academic growth of students at individual schools, rather than simply looking at student performance on a single assessment. Arizona’s revised A-F accountability system was released last week after the State Board of Education endorsed changes and revised cut-scores for school grades. The grades reflect school performance during the 2016-17 school year.
- As to the results, Arizona’s charter sector leads the state in the percentage of quality A and B rated schools, with 55 percent of charters receiving these top grades. That means that 70 percent of public charter school students are enrolled in a quality school. We are heartened by this fact, and that charters are fulfilling their mission of increasing student achievement by providing parents quality public school choices.
- We are also encouraged by the fact that a larger proportion of charter schools received grades—up to 65 percent from the baseline of 50 percent when preliminary grades were released last fall. Schools not rated include all alternative and online schools, small schools and new schools with limited data. More of these schools will receive letter grades as the state creates additional accountability systems to address their unique needs.
As policymakers seek to expand Arizona’s accountability system in 2018, hard choices loom around what to do with schools with poor or failing grades. On behalf of Arizona charter schools, the Association will continue to push strongly for changes to ensure public schools are rated appropriately, and Arizona parents and policymakers receive the accurate information they need to make decisions about our public charter schools.
As parents, letter grades may be one factor to consider when choosing a public school. The Association’s Education Evaluator was created as an interactive tool to allow parents and community members easy access to A-F and other school information. It is the only comprehensive map that includes every public charter and district school in Arizona. It allows users to search and find schools in their neighborhood, by performance, grade, city, county, legislative district or just by zooming into their desired area. Other considerations may be a school’s grades; culture; learning style; curriculum; programs; class size; and, proximity to your home. We encourage you to narrow your search using the Education Evaluator and then reach out to schools directly to learn more about them. Click here to find a quality school.
