Schools across the Valley are seeing improvements after the pandemic.
The Arizona State Board of Education, in conjunction with the Arizona Department of Education, released letter grades for schools for the first time since 2019.
More schools are receiving A's and B's compared to results from 2019, the last time grades were sent out due to the pandemic.
According to the Arizona State Board of Education, this year, 365 K-8 schools received an A, 579 schools received a B, and there were 308 schools that received a C; 64 D's and 14 F's.
In 2019, 366 K-8 schools received an A, 415 received Bs, 375 received a C, 139 received D's and 38 had F's.
However, a spokesperson with the Department of Education says it may be a bit difficult to compare 2022 grades to 2019 since they used a different state test to factor into the grade.
The state uses five factors in grading schools:
- Student growth from year-to year, individual students are compared year to year instead of comparing a class to the previous year’s class. Elementary school growth is 50% of the school’s grade.
- Proficiency on statewide assessment such as Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment or ACT. The state said for this year’s letter grade, it didn’t use the AZ Merit test, which it did in previous years.
- English language proficiency and growth that’s measured in the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment.
- Indicators measuring if an elementary student is ready for success in high school and then if high school students are ready for a career or higher education.
- High school graduation rates.
The state gives out letter grades to schools to measure performance in a snapshot.
The Dysart Unified School District said it doubled the number of A-rated schools this year compared to 2019. Only two of its schools have C's.
“It is important to note that this year the state used the same cut marks as they did in 2019 for K-8 schools, the last year they issued letter grades. However, this year's K-8 growth score is only based on growth percentile and does not include growth-to-target,” the district said in a statement.
One of the district’s schools went from a C-rated school to A-rated.
Amy Hartjen, the district’s director of research and achievement, attributes that to the individualized work they do with schools to improve scores.
“We try to personalize it to the campus and what their needs are, because it’s not a one size fits all. Particularly, our district has a really diverse student population. We want to make sure what we’re doing at a district level supports what our campus needs most,” Hartjen said.
One of the district’s schools, Freedom Traditional Academy, received an A. This was the first year the school received a letter grade since it opened in 2019.
It ended up being the eighth highest score among all K-8 schools in the state.
Principal Connie Wolford tells ABC15 it is exciting, but much more work needs to be done.
“Absolutely, without a doubt. We’re not even there yet. We strive every single day, and it’ll continue to be that way,” she said.
While these scores come out for schools, Hartjen is reminded that these are only snapshots of a school and does not define the school itself. She says it just helps them figure out what areas they can help students improve on.
The State Board of Education says a school’s letter grade is important to consider but also offers the same sentiment as Hartjen.
“…They are not the only indicators of a school’s performance. Qualitative measures, which will vary in importance from family to family, should also be considered. Some students thrive in a small school, while others seek the wide range of options a larger school offers,” a statement from the Board of Educatoion read.
“The letter grade certainly doesn’t represent everything that goes on in the school. There are definitely schools that didn’t earn As that are phenomenal schools for students to be at when you look at culture programs and opportunities for kids,” Hartjen said.
You can see the scores for all schools in Arizona here. While the letter grades just came out, the State Board of Education says schools can appeal the score they’ve been given by November 15.
