A-F Letter Grades

Arizona Revised Statutes § 15-241 requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), subject to final adoption by the State Board of Education, to develop an annual achievement profile for every public school in the state based on an A through F scale. The development of the Accountability System was informed by public input through 17 public hearings across the state and a survey that yielded almost 1700 responses. Additionally, a broad-based committee consisting of school administrators, teachers, parents and data experts provided the Board with additional input.

The system measures year to year student growth, proficiency on English language arts, math and science, the proficiency and growth of English language learners, indicators that an elementary student is ready for success in high school and that high school students are ready to succeed in a career or higher education and high school graduation rates. 

The plan adopted by the Board complies with state statute and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act while recognizing the opportunity to measure the quality of a school and its effectiveness across a broader range of measures than in the past.  

For more information on the A-F Accountability System, including on how letter grades are calculated, the process the Board undertook to develop the System, and an FAQ, please review the items listed below under A-F Toolkit.

2016-2017 A-F School Letter Grades

2016-2017 A-F School Letter Grades can be viewed in the excel spreadsheet below. Please note that letter grades are awarded based on percentage earned; not total points. 

2016-2017 A-F Letter Grades

Letter grades are posted in one of three categories:

Additional information on the calculation of A-F Letter Grades can be found in the tab below labeled A-F Toolkit.

2017-2018 A-F School Letter Grades

For the 2017-2018 A-F Accountability System the Board will be considering several changes to enhance the system and to comply with federal law. The Board is required to make the following changes to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA:

• Include in the denominator the greater of 95 percent of all students or the number of students participating in the proficiency calculation
• Move the science assessment out of the Proficiency Indicator
• Include all seniors, not just graduating seniors, in the College and Career Readiness Indicator

Based on public feedback and review by the Technical Advisory Committee and data experts, the Board is modelling the following changes to the 2017-2018 Accountability System:

• Lowering the n-count from 20 to capture as many students as possible in a school's letter grade calculation (n-count is the minimum number of students in each indicator necessary to include the data in a school's letter grade calculation)
• Modifying the weights within the growth indicator to ensure all students that achieve a year's worth of growth earn points for that growth
• Establishing confidence intervals for 3rd grade English language arts proficiency and chronic absenteeism within the K-8 Acceleration and Readiness Indicator

The Board is working to finalize the Accountability System for the 2017-2018 Accountability System in the coming months, allowing time for schools to review their data in the summer and releasing letter grades in the fall. Immediately following the finalization of the 2017-2018 Accountability System, the Board will shift its focus to the Accountability System for the 2018-2019 school year.