- Higley Unified School District
- 2021-2022 School Letter Grades
Assessment & Student Information
2021-2022 School Letter Grades
On October 31st, the Arizona State Board of Education released the 2021-2022 A-F School Letter Grades for all public schools statewide. These reports provide information about student achievement, college and career readiness, student growth, and other key areas of interest to families and the general public.
We are pleased to share our letter grades and data with the Higley community and are incredibly proud of our hard-working students and educators. All of our schools achieved an A or B letter grade for 2021-2022, rating them as excellent or highly performing by the Arizona State Board of Education, with eight of our schools receiving an A.
Why do Schools Get Letter Grades?
The A-F Letter Grade system is a requirement per Arizona Revised Statute (ARS 15-241) that requires the Arizona Department of Education, subject to final adoption by the Arizona State Board of Education, to develop an annual achievement profile for every public school in the state based on an A-F scale.
It is intended to be used by districts and schools to improve student outcomes, provide families with information on how their school is performing, and to help identify schools that may be in need of support.
The system measures student achievement, annual growth, and student readiness for whatever is next in their education or career.
What does a Letter Grade Mean?
- A (Excellent)
- Distinguished performance on the statewide assessment, significant student growth, high four-year graduation rates, students on track to proficiency; overall performance is significantly higher than state average.
- B (Highly Performing)
- High performance on statewide assessment and/or significant student growth and/or higher four-year graduation rates and/or moving students to proficiency at a higher rate than the state average.
- C (Performing)
- Adequate performance but needs improvement on some indicators, such as proficiency, growth, or graduation rate.
- D (Minimally Performing)
- Inadequate performance in proficiency, growth and/or four-year graduation rate relative to the state average.
- F (Failing)
- Systematic failures in proficiency, growth, and graduation rates (below 67%); performance is in the bottom 5% of the state.
Arizona Accountability Models
K-8 Model
Bonus Points:
Science
Up to 3%
Special Education Enrollment
Up to 2%
9-12 Model
Bonus Points:
Science
Up to 3%
Special Education Enrollment
Up to 2%
ACT Aspire
Up to 3%
30% of a school’s letter grade for both K-8 and 9-12 models
Schools earn points for a student’s performance on English Language Arts and Math on either AASA or ACT.
| Achievement Level | Point Value |
|---|---|
| Minimally Proficient (1) | 0 |
| Partially Proficient (2) | 0.6 |
| Proficient (3) | 1.0 |
| Highly Proficient (4) | 1.3 |
Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) describe how a student grows on a current year test in relation to current year students with the exact same prior year test scores.
SGPs of students are classified into three levels ranging from low to high and points are then assigned using a weighted measure using the student’s category and their prior-year achievement level.
| Current-Year Student Growth Percentile | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior-Year Achievement Level | Weights | ||
| Highly Proficient | 0 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Proficient | 0 | 1.00 | 1.20 |
| Partially Proficient | 0 | 1.00 | 1.80 |
| Minimally Proficient | 0 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| 1-33 | 34-66 | 67-99 | |
| Low Growth | Average Growth | High Growth | |
A school’s EL proficiency percentage on AZELLA is compared to the current year state’s proficiency percentage.
Student growth in classification levels based on AZELLA is compared to the current year state’s growth percentage.
Points can be earned using any of the metrics below:
- Grade 8 Math Performance
- Grade 3 ELA Minimally Proficient
- Chronic Absenteeism
- Subgroup Improvement
- Special Education Inclusion
Designed to hold schools accountable for 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-year cohorts as well as increase graduation rates compared to the prior year or maintain a 90% or higher rate.
Schools and students receive credit for students enrolling or participating in college ready courses and assessments (Advanced Placement, taking the SAT, or taking Dual Enrollment courses) and career ready courses and assessments (CTE or taking the ASVAB).
- Special Education Enrollment (K-12)
- AzSCI Proficiency (K-12)
- ACT Aspire Participation (9-12)
K-8 Letter Grades
| School | Letter Grade |
Proficiency | Growth | EL | Acceleration Readiness |
SPED Bonus |
AzSci Bonus |
Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridges Elementary | A | 30.00 | 44.14 | N/A | 6.00 | 1.00 | 3.00 | 93.04 |
| Centennial Elementary | A | 24.73 | 40.78 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 1.5 | 89.01 |
| Chaparral Elementary | A | 21.12 | 40.40 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 86.52 |
| Cooley Middle School | B | 19.57 | 35.02 | 9.00 | 8.50 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 75.59 |
| Cortina Elementary | B | 24.52 | 36.55 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 83.57 |
| Coronado Elementary | B | 23.41 | 35.38 | N/A | 10.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 81.43 |
| Gateway Pointe Elementary | B | 19.08 | 43.83 | 9.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 83.41 |
| Higley Traditional Academy | A | 25.04 | 42.21 | N/A | 10.00 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 88.83 |
| Power Ranch Elementary | A | 22.58 | 41.26 | N/A | 8.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 84.82 |
| San Tan Elementary | A | 25.12 | 38.36 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 88.48 |
| Sossaman Middle School | B | 23.62 | 41.53 | 6.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 82.65 |
9-12 Letter Grades
| School | Letter Grade | Proficiency | Growth | EL | Graduation Rate | CCRI | SPED Bonus | AzSCI Bonus | ACT Aspire Bonus | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higley High School | A | 24.26 | 18.97 | 9.00 | 20.00 | 17.20 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 3.00 | 95.93 |
| Williams Field High School | A | 24.53 | 20.00 | 10.00 | 20.00 | 16.3 | 2.00 | 1.50 | 3.00 | 98.33 |
Hybrid Letter Grades
As 2021-2022 was the first year of operation for the Higley Virtual Academy they did not receive a letter grade.
