Charter Students Again Lead the State in AzMERIT Scores

For the second straight year, Arizona charter students outperformed their peers across the state. According to AzMERIT scores released this week, charter students scored better than the state average in the ELA and Math assessment in every grade level and subject area except Algebra I, where charter students tied the state average.

The AzMERIT scores, released by the Arizona Department of Education on September 15, show the hard work and dedication of Arizona’s charter students, teachers and leaders.

“I’m proud to see Arizona’s charter school students continuing to set a strong example of educational excellence. For the second straight year, charter students outperformed the state average in virtually every grade level and subject,” said Eileen Sigmund, President and CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association. “While more work remains, these scores are strong validation of the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers and leaders. We’re moving in the right direction, and we’re getting results.”

AzMERIT Charter Highlights

  • Public charter students outperformed the state average of students passing the English/Language test on average by 9 percentage points.
  • Public charter students outperformed the state average of students passing the Mathematics test on average by 6 percentage points.
  • All 50 of the top LEAs on the English/Language Arts exam are charter schools, when looking at percent of students passing the test.
  • 49 of the 50 top LEAs on the Math exams are charters, when looking at percent of students passing the test.

NAEP “The Nation’s Report Card”

Arizona’s charter students outperformed nearly every other state on the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress. On eighth grade mathematics, for instance, Arizona charter students scored in a statistical dead heat with Massachusetts, the highest scoring of the 50 states.

NAEP Infographic
Download our fact sheet here. You can view our 2015 results here.