Four schools in Tucsonβs major school districts dropped from a D to an F after the Board of Education finalized letter grades issued by the Arizona Department of Education.
TUSD schools Magee Middle, Booth-Fickett K-8 and Catalina High School each received an F after the board voted on A-F appeals Dec. 13. As well, Marana Unifiedβs Tortolita Middle School received an F.
This brought TUSDβs number of F schools to five. All the districtβs other school grades remained the same.
The grades are based on year-over-year student academic growth, scores on statewide assessments, high school graduation rates and indicators that a student is ready for success at the next level. The letter grades are designed to give school leaders, teachers, parents and community members a snapshot of where they are doing well and where they need to improve.
After preliminary grades are given, schools have a chance to file an appeal based on environmental challenges, emergencies, tragedies, other substantive events or incorrect data.
When schools are rated a D-school for three consecutive years, they automatically receive an F. The three TUSD schools that fell to an F after the appeals were in this category.
TUSD filed appeals for those three to maintain their D as well as three others in the same predicament. Dietz K-8, Pistor Middle and Grijalva Elementary all won their appeals to maintain a D.
TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo says the district is disappointed with losing the appeal for Catalina High School to keep its D grade. Last year the state adopted a new βmenu of assessments,β allowing high schools to choose between three standardized tests: AzMERIT, used previously, ACT or SAT.
The Board of Education said schools wouldnβt be subject to a letter decrease for piloting the new menu of assessments, Trujillo said, adding that Catalina was showing incremental student growth in both the English Language Arts and math AzMERIT tests but saw a decline when it switched to ACT.
βWe were given a good-faith commitment from the Arizona Board of Education that high schools would not be punished ... essentially a commitment is not being honored,β Trujillo said. βIf we knew that Catalina was going to be held accountable this way, we would have stayed with AzMERIT.β
Alicia Williams, Board of Education executive director, was not immediately available for comment.
Schools were allowed to retain their letter grade from last year if it ended up being better than the grade they received this year, Arizona Department of Education spokesman Stefan Swiat told the Arizona Daily Star in April. But his comment didnβt apply to the rule of three consecutive Dβs, which drops a school to an F.
In Marana Unified, Tortolita received an F because of three years of being D-rated as well. Principal Shelly Vroegh is new to the school this year and said sheβs experienced a βschool turnaround and transformation.β Tortolita appealed the F-grade on that basis but lost.
Vroegh said that while the grade is disappointing, the school is taking drastic measures to improve the grade and accepts the need for more accountability with students, the staff and leadership.
Only one other school in Pima Countyβs nine major districts fell a grade since the preliminary grades were released last month. Sunnysideβs Sierra 2-8 School went from a C to a D.
Other districts have schools that came up one letter grade. These were Amphitheaterβs La Cima Middle and Flowing Wellsβ Laguna Elementary, which both improved to a B.
Arizonaβs D- and F-rated schools, most often found in poor and underserved neighborhoods, are required to send notices of their performance to homes as a form of accountability.
