GRADING WEST VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
West Valley Families shows what every parent should consider when choosing an elementary school for their child. This is a step-by-step guide to finding the information you need to make the decision.
My favorite amenity in the West Valley is the Loop 303. The freeway got me up to Prescott, Arizona this week for sunshine and cooler temps. If you haven’t been to the Mortimer Farms Pumpkin Fest & Corn Maze, I highly recommend it! Its last day is tomorrow.
Now it’s back to reality. So let’s talk about those school letter grades my colleagues are buzzing about.
WEST VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT “LETTER” GRADES
The Arizona Department of Education releases its letter grades for schools and districts based on the A-F Accountability System. New letter grades are now available for the 2023-24 School Year.
Not only will we look at the letter grades for West Valley elementary districts, but we’re going to compare them to the proficiency scores we exclusively researched and reported just two weeks ago.
WHY DO “PROFICIENCY” SCORES MATTER?
West Valley Families uncovered a troubling trend in local public schools. Of the 11 West Valley school districts we examined, 9 earned less than 50% proficiency in either English Language Arts or math.
Arguably, proficiency scores tell part of the story.
In Arizona, schools and districts can earn an “A” even if student proficiency falls under 50%. And we’re going to show you why.
LETTERS VS. NUMBERS
Arizona public school letter grades, like A, B, C, D, and F, give families an idea of how schools and districts perform academically and in a variety of categories including graduation rates. Letter grades aren't just a reflection of test scores; they measure how much students improve from one year to the next, which is called "academic growth."
On a deeper level, student proficiency is measured through annual assessment tests evaluating academic progress and mastery of state standards. In Arizona public schools, student proficiency scores measure how well students understand the material in core subjects like math and reading. These scores show whether students have met the expected knowledge level for their grade. If a student is "proficient," it means they’ve learned the skills and concepts needed to move forward in that subject.
So, even if a school has lower test scores but shows a lot of “growth” in a variety of areas, it can still earn a decent letter grade.
*Interestingly, the National Education Association points out that high test scores don’t necessarily mean students truly understand what they’re learning. A high score could reflect test-taking skills or even memorization rather than deep comprehension of the material. So, Arizona’s letter grades try to look beyond just raw test results, factoring in growth as well to give a more rounded view of school performance.
Comparing the results side-by-side gives us useful insight as to what’s happening in local classrooms.
WHAT THIS INVESTIGATION COVERS
Today, we’re comparing all of the information we gathered in our last investigation to the newly released letter grades.
For the purpose of this report, we’re starting with elementary school districts. High schools and unified school districts will be published in the coming days.
Where are we finding this information so you can see it, too?
A-F LETTER GRADES FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE ASSESSMENT RESULTS FOR THE 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR
SCHOOL DISTRICT SPENDING ANALYSIS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
*Note: This report has updated proficiency scores for “All Students” who attend “All” year in each district.
WEST VALLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
For our first investigation, West Valley Families looks at elementary schools on “our side” of town.
“All Assessments” include the 2024 AASA, ACT, and MSAA Assessment Combined Results.
We report each district’s newly released letter grade from the Arizona State Board of Education.
District Student Achievement numbers from the Arizona Auditor General do not include Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Science proficiency for 2024 is not yet available to us.
AVONDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
BUCKEYE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
LIBERTY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
LITCHFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
TOLLESON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
JEN’S TWO CENTS
A couple of stats stand out.
None of these schools have completely recovered from the pandemic. Closing schools. Virtual instruction. It all had a long-lasting impact on children.
What happened to SCIENCE?? If you look at Litchfield Elementary School District, it had a 70% proficiency rate in 2019. Last year, it was 37%. Science proficiency in the Liberty Elementary School District took a nose dive from 64% prior to the pandemic to 27% last year. Avondale went from 55% to 29%. Tolleson, 46% to 18%. What’s the common denominator??
If you really want to learn more about Arizona public schools, please follow “A Legal Process” on Substack and X. His monthly reports on disciplinary actions in public schools will give you the chills.
It’s the independent and citizen journalists who are starting the important discussions we need to have.
Elementary schools are just a start. Be sure to subscribe to my Substack so you don’t miss my next report… Grading West Valley High Schools. After that, we’ll look at unified school districts. This is a lot of information and it takes a great deal of time to compile. But it will be published as I have the time.
As always, thank you for your support.