The Arizona Department of Education is reporting modest progress in math and reading proficiency among state public school students. That translated to a slight improvement in school performance grades across the state.
In all, about 65 percent of Arizona schools earned an A or B grade in 2013. Around 63 percent of them maintained their grade from the previous year. And the state saw a net gain of 3 percent of schools improving their standing.
Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal said the growth was modest, but insists the important thing is the general pattern of upward migration.
"You’re never going to improve in a straight linear fashion, so the challenge is can we take what is very positive here, three net points increasing and can we increase that to 6 that’s where we want to be," Huppenthal said.
A large part of the grade was determined through standardized test scores called the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards also known as AIMS, which is given to 3 rd-10 th graders each year.
When compared to last year, state public school students held steady at a 61 percent passage rate in the math assessment. There was a 1 percent increase in passage of the reading assessment, bringing that figure to 79 percent.
