Charter schools participate in the state’s nationally standardized norm-referenced achievement test and AIMS. Each charter school also completes an annual report card for the Department of Education and an annual report for its sponsoring board. The annual report cards are available on the Arizona Department of Education’s web site. Charter schools also design a method to measure pupil progress toward student outcomes.
As a parent, you may want to explore whether these measurements meet your child’s current and future needs. For instance, if your child is considering attending a college/university that requires graded transcripts, you may want to investigate charter schools that provide graded transcripts.
Some other things to consider are:
- What kinds of assessments are used?
- Are the assessment tools consistent with the mission of the school?
- Are the goals clear and can progress toward the goals be measured?
- Does the teaching staff have experience using this type of assessment?
- What do student report cards contain and what is their frequency?
- How is student progress communicated to parents?
