The Arizona Department of Education has released school performance letter grade information to the public for the 2016-17 school year. They were initially released to public school officials in late September.
When the grades went out to schools, board of education officials urged administrators to keep the information secret, pending an embargo period that they said would give schools a chance to contest their grade if needed.
First amendment attorneys and news organizations pushed back saying the work-in-progress nature of the data was not an adequate reason to withhold information that should be considered public. The state education agencies stuck with their position, though, until Friday, after the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said the records were, in fact, public, even though the information is subject to change.
According to initial results, just under 300 district and charter schools got an A grade. On the other end of the scale, about 50 schools received an F.
