Arizona Schools Get New Grading System

The State Board of Education on Monday approved two new grading systems - one for elementary schools and one for high schools. The systems, which assign letter grades to schools, go into effect in the fall.

Have Patch Send You Breaking News Alerts And Newsletters

The board, which was under a state-imposed deadline to create a system so they could start handing out grades in the fall, has worked since September developing the new system, holding more than one dozen public meetings.

A major objective was to come up with a system that would seek to break the link between poverty and poor grades for the schools, which had been based primarily on the results of standardized testing.

Under the new system, school grades for elementary schools will be based on:

• 30 percent - performance on the state's standardized tests
• 50 percent - growth in the standardized test performance
• 10 percent - proficiency and growth by a school's English-language learners perform on a specialized test
• 10 percent - a collection of "acceleration/readiness" factors including absenteeism and inclusion of students with disabilities

For high schools:

• 30 percent - performance on the state's standardized tests
• 20 percent - growth in the standardized test performance
• 10 percent - proficiency and growth by a school's English-language learners perform on a specialized test
• 20 percent - "college and career readiness indicators" including SAT and Advanced Placement tests and getting industry-recognized certificates.
• 20 percent - graduation rates.

State officials say that the system will be revisited regularly and revised if necessarily.

Photo via ShutterStock