The parental – and societal – desire to compare school performance is widespread and has clear merit. But developing a system that compares school performance fairly and accurately is complex and full of challenges, as a June 19 performance audit from the Arizona Auditor General shows in striking detail. 

That state has been using an “A-F letter grading system,” which was first required by statute in 2011. There are some obvious problems with how this has worked.  As the audit reports, the goal to “accurately reflect school performance,” has not been achieved. This was not news to the State Board of Education, which has study sessions on the topic, with Department of Education assistance, between August 2025 and May 2026.

The challenges with the current letter grade system are clearly laid out in the audit.

About 78% of K-8 schools and high schools received grades of A or B, “even when very few students demonstrate proficiency.” In general, the audit notes that “Most schools earned 80% or more of available points on indicators other than proficiency in 2025.”

One problem, the audit cites has been the use of a system of bonus points that has tended to inflate school grades. Another evaluation issue cited in the audit is the reliance on self-reported information, in some cases. Although not directly related to the quality of the grading system, the audit also found problems with the transparency of the process. 

In addition, neither the Department nor the Board of Education has followed through on an eight-year-old statute that required providing letter grades for individual indicators.

This kind of disaggregated information is crucial in performance measurement as it provides much clearer information as to the specific nature of what’s achieved and what indicators need most attention. The specific indicators used in Arizona are: Proficiency; English language learners; Growth, Acceleration and Readiness and Graduation/graduation rate improvement, and College and career readiness. (There are several differences in the indicators applied to K-8 and high school.)

The federal government requires that states have an accountability system for their schools, but it does not specify how it is to be done. The audit compared Arizona results to those from five other states with “letter grades or similar school accountability systems to assess similarities and differences.” Those states were Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi and Utah.

Of the schools that were most directly comparable with A-F grading systems, the audit found that Arizona “awarded the highest proportion of A and B letter grades”. Among those states the next highest percent of A and B grades was in Florida with 71%, while 69% of Alabama schools and 62% of Mississippi schools received A or B grades.

Currently, eight states have A-F grading systems, according to the MOST Policy Institute, a Missouri-based organization, which published a report on A-F School Grades in March 2026. In addition to Arizona, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, the states it includes are Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. It also notes that Indiana, which paused A-F grading in 2018, is bringing it back in 2026-2027. Four other states, which had used A-F school grades, eliminated them between 2019 and 2023:  Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah.

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