The Arizona Department of Education released the final combined performance results from the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 administrations of the AzMERIT statewide assessment and the Multi-State Alternate Assessment (MSAA) alternate statewide assessment.
The results are grim.
Arizona public school students in third grade through high school take AzMERIT. Students in grades 3 through 8 take an assessment in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics at their grade level. Students taking high school level English and math take End-of-Course assessments that test their proficiency in those subjects.
MSAA is Arizona’s alternate statewide achievement test for eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities. The MSAA alternate assessment is based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Eligible Arizona public school students take the MSAA Alternate Assessments for ELA and Mathematics in Grades 3 through 8 and Grade 11.
2016-2017 AzMERIT Final Passing and Proficiency Rates
Mathematics
| Test Level | Percent Passing | Percent Minimally Proficient | Percent Partially Proficient | Percent Proficient | Percent Highly Proficient |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 24 | 29 | 29 | 19 |
| Grade 4 | 47 | 25 | 28 | 34 | 13 |
| Grade 5 | 48 | 26 | 26 | 32 | 15 |
| Grade 6 | 42 | 35 | 23 | 25 | 17 |
| Grade 7 | 34 | 47 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Grade 8 Enrolled Algebra 1 | 81 | 5 | 13 | 45 | 36 |
| Grade 8 Enrolled Algebra 2 | 97 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 74 |
| Grade 8 Enrolled Any Assessment | 36 | 42 | 22 | 22 | 14 |
| Grade 8 Enrolled Geometry | 93 | 1 | 6 | 41 | 52 |
| Grade 8 enrolled Grade 8 assessment | 27 | 49 | 23 | 18 | 9 |
| Algebra I | 39 | 40 | 21 | 28 | 11 |
| Algebra II | 34 | 44 | 21 | 27 | 8 |
| Geometry | 33 | 40 | 26 | 26 | 7 |
| All | 41 | 35 | 24 | 27 | 14 |
English Language Arts
| Test Level | Percent Passing | Percent Minimally Proficient | Percent Partially Proficient | Percent Proficient | Percent Highly Proficient |
| Grade 3 | 44 | 44 | 12 | 30 | 13 |
| Grade 4 | 49 | 35 | 16 | 35 | 13 |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 12 |
| Grade 6 | 42 | 34 | 24 | 37 | 5 |
| Grade 7 | 44 | 36 | 19 | 35 | 9 |
| Grade 8 | 34 | 45 | 21 | 25 | 9 |
| Grade 9 | 36 | 37 | 27 | 26 | 10 |
| Grade 10 | 31 | 52 | 18 | 22 | 9 |
| Grade 11 | 25 | 52 | 23 | 17 | 9 |
| All | 39 | 41 | 20 | 29 | 10 |
Comparison Mathematics
| Test Level | Percent Passing | Percent Minimally Proficient | Percent Partially Proficient | Percent Proficient | Percent Highly Proficient | |||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Grade 3 | 46 | 47 | 25 | 24 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 17 | 19 |
| Grade 4 | 45 | 47 | 29 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 34 | 34 | 10 | 13 |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 48 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 31 | 32 | 15 | 15 |
| Grade 6 | 39 | 42 | 37 | 35 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 15 | 17 |
| Grade 7 | 31 | 34 | 46 | 47 | 23 | 18 | 22 | 17 | 10 | 18 |
| Grade 8 Enrolled Algebra 1 | 81 | 5 | 13 | 45 | 36 | |||||
| Grade 8 Enrolled Algebra 2 | 97 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 74 | |||||
| Grade 8 Enrolled Any Assessment | 36 | 42 | 22 | 22 | 14 | |||||
| Grade 8 Enrolled Geometry | 94 | 1 | 5 | 48 | 46 | |||||
| Grade 8 enrolled Grade 8 assessment | 27 | 49 | 23 | 18 | 9 | |||||
| Algebra I | 37 | 39 | 44 | 40 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 9 | 11 |
| Algebra II | 30 | 34 | 46 | 44 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 7 | 8 |
| Geometry | 34 | 33 | 41 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 7 | 7 |
| All | 41 | 35 | 24 | 27 | 14 |
English Language Arts
| Test Level | Percent Passing | Percent Minimally Proficient | Percent Partially Proficient | Percent Proficient | ||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | 2016 | 2017 | |
| Grade 3 | 41 | 44 | 45 | 44 | 14 | 12 | 29 | 30 |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 49 | 40 | 35 | 14 | 16 | 34 | 35 |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 44 | 31 | 32 | 23 | 24 | 32 | 32 |
| Grade 6 | 38 | 42 | 41 | 34 | 21 | 24 | 32 | 37 |
| Grade 7 | 41 | 44 | 38 | 36 | 21 | 19 | 35 | 35 |
| Grade 8 | 33 | 34 | 44 | 45 | 23 | 21 | 26 | 25 |
| Grade 9 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 37 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 26 |
| Grade 10 | 29 | 31 | 54 | 52 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| Grade 11 | 30 | 25 | 53 | 52 | 17 | 23 | 19 | 17 |
| All | 39 | 41 | 20 | 29 |
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