PHOENIX — Arizona's latest test scores are higher than previous years, but a large percentage of kids are still failing to pass the testing.
Results are in for Arizona's 2021-2022 Statewide Assessment, and while there's been some improvement, the scores are not entirely worth celebrating.
The statewide assessment measures test scores in English, math, and science for students in grades third through eighth.
Data shows a 3-percentage point increase in English and Language Arts when compared to the previous school year. There also was a 2-percentage point increase in math scores. However, only 41% of Arizona students passed the English and Language Arts section, while only 33% passed math.
"We always want our students to achieve and be proficient at 100%," said Dr. Lupita Hightower, the superintendent of the Tolleson Elementary School District.
She says the Tolleson district also noticed students performing better on the tests.
"So grade level by grade level we had increases in some cases were 5%, in some cases were 13% in some cases 16%," she said.
And after a tumultuous schoolyear during the height of COVID-19, Hightower said it was nice to see some improvements.
"We were quite thrilled to see that the growth that our students had from year-to-year was significant in our school district, and it was higher than the state trend for growth," she said.
However, when asked if the Tolleson district is performing at the level Hightower wants, the superintendent said she'd like her schools to do better.
"We still have so much more growth in our district and state and we're continuing to work on," she said. "In fact, this year we revamped our plan to ensure the instruction is relevant and rigorous beyond where it needs to be."
And it's already in motion. School officials have met with teachers, parents and other staff to help make the Five-Year Vision plan a success.
"It makes us proud because we have a team that's working extremely hard," Hightower added.
One thing Dr. Hightower mentioned was that the statewide test assessment was different from previous years, so they're really looking forward to the upcoming testing and its results to really be able to compare and see what improvements are being made.
12News reached out to State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, as well as Tom Horne, who's running against Hoffman in this year's election, for comment but didn't hear back from them.
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