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Superior Sun
AIMS in Arizona is the acronym for Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards. AIMS is not just important for SUSD it is important for all school districts throughout the state. Many people look at AIMS testing as a hassle or just another hurdle put in the education process in the state, however, it can be an invaluable tool to gauge progress and address the needs of our educational system. It is a program implemented and administered by the Arizona Department of Education. Community members and parents have inquired about the AIMS testing asking what it is for and why is it necessary.
At a recent meeting with Arlynn Godinez she explained in detail what the AIMS testing does and how it helps with monitoring the schools needs. Godinez said, “I would make the generalization that overall in reading K-12, I would venture to say our students consistently scored comparatively to the county. Reading is definitely an area of strength in our district. The area’s where we continue to struggle is math and science. About fourth grade through 10th grade as these were the most recently tested.”
Godinez explained, “This past year we saw growth particularly at the elementary school in grades third and fifth. The jr. high fell again and we saw a slight increase in the math scores, but our jr. high has struggled more than any of the other two sites. That is really the area of focus. Our high school really grew this year particularly in the area of math and writing, as a result of that our high school went from a grade of a C to a B. The jr. high, because it has struggled and remained a D it has been labeled priority, which in terms of that state it is being closely watched by the state and it is impairative that we improve. The state sends a people out to monitor the school about three times during a semester it requires a significant amount of paperwork on Superior Unified School District’s staff. There is a greater presence by the state because typically the state doesn’t send anyone in at all, so now we will have people on campus once or twice every semester that is true on both sites JFK and the jr. high. When you look at degrees of achievement, you have priorities which means we are close to failing and something needs to be done so the state steps in to oversee the school. We all need to work harder.”
“The state looks at growth when they are looking at giving schools labels they want to see kids as they progress educationally, they want to see kids on the upward projection they want to see kids increasing in scores. The state wants to know and see that the kids are continuing to make growth as they progress or do we have declines,” Godinez added.
Superintendent Patrick O’Donnell said, “The biggest thing is some grade levels we aren’t seeing any growth, even though they were really good to that point and then all of a sudden they bottomed out and then after that they started to grow again.”
Godinez presented many charts about the Superior School Distrct. This is information from one of the charts: The Superior School third graders will be the graduating class of 2019. The SUSD third graders are being used as our benchmark and we will follow them from 2010 through 2014 as our example. Starting in 2010 the third graders math percentile was 71, the reading percentile was 82. For the year 2011 the now fourth graders math percentile was 55 and the reading percentile was 64. For the year 2012 the now fifth graders math percentile is 38 and the reading percentile was 48. For the year 2013 the now sixth graders math percentile was 60 and the reading percentile was 80. For the year 2014 the now seventh graders the math percentile is 40 and the reading percentile is 68.
These numbers are used to gauge the progress among the schools and compare them with other districts throughout the state and to help implement new teaching methods that will help our children progress.
If you want more information on the class your child is in or the scores of the Superior Unified School District or any other districts in the state please feel free to visit the state of Arizona website: www.azed.gov/reasarch-evaluation/aims-assessment-results/.
Nina Crowder is a resident of Mammoth. She volunteers in several local organizations. She covers events throughout the Copper Corridor and Superior Town and School governance.
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