By Jamar Younger
Arizona’s A-F letter grade system has served as the outward-facing indicator of a school’s quality since it was introduced in 2010.
For charter schools, A-F letter grades influence high stakes decisions such as whether a school or network can renew its charter, increase its enrollment and open another campus.
Ultimately, if a charter school receives an ‘F,’ it may potentially lead to the school’s closure.
That’s why the next six weeks will provide a series of defining moments as the state looks to complete its revamp of the new, proposed A-F Framework crafted by the state’s A-F Ad Hoc Committee.
Rapid enrollment growth over the past 20 years has demonstrated the popularity of public charter schools when parents are given an option in their children’s education. In Arizona, 180,000 students now attend one of 547 charter schools across the state. Since 2007-08, charter enrollment nationally has more than doubled and now stands at nearly 3 million.