Arizona school letter grades don’t reflect actual performance, Auditor General says

Arizona’s school letter grades do not accurately reflect the performance of individual schools, according to a new report from the state Auditor General.

Each year, the Arizona Department of Education assigns letter grades to schools based on criteria including academic proficiency, state assessment results, attendance and graduation rates. Schools receive grades of A through F.

The report found the department’s grading system does not accurately communicate school performance due to a lack of information about the criteria and differences between schools.

More than 77% of K-8 schools statewide received A or B grades, the report noted, saying the system allows schools to earn high marks without demonstrating academic proficiency by excelling in other areas.

State Superintendent Tom Horne said the findings were not surprising.

He said the department and the State Board of Education are already working to overhaul the grading system.

“We started having meetings educating state board members on the system so they could make a meaningful decision about changes, and I think those changes may be decided on, maybe, by September,” he told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

The Auditor General recommended that the department and State Board revise the definition of each letter grade to clarify what it means in terms of school performance.

Horne said he plans to propose that no school receive an A if students test low in academic proficiency.

“Progress would play a role, but you wouldn’t want a situation where they had low proficiency, and they got an A. Parents would feel that was misleading,” he said. “They deserve credit for making good progress, but if their proficiency is low, I think they should be a B rather than an A.”

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