"The Scottsdale school community understands and supports school improvement and accountability standards," said Dr. Barbara F. Erwin, superintendent. "The school achievement profiles issued by the state today under Arizona LEARNS were not a surprise, and we recognize they tell only part of the story."

"Our students are achievers and award winners; our teachers, many of whom are award winners themselves, bring a passion for learning into the classroom; and with A+ and National Blue Ribbon schools among us, we consistently rank high. Today's state profiles are an indication of how a school does under the new state accountability system," she said.

"Scottsdale has experience with the use of data like today's profiles to focus on student academic achievement. Our principals and teachers have been trained in the use of data to drive instruction in the classroom. We already require annual school improvement plans to assure that all students are improving and achieving academic growth," Dr. Erwin said.

"We began more than two years ago, at a community summit, to establish a mission statement and goals for this district. First among the goals is to increase individual student academic achievement and growth," she said.

"The state profiles released today, with 22 of our schools showing that they exceed state performance and progress goals ("improving") and seven of our schools showing that they meet state performance goals and need to meet state progress goals ("maintaining") indicate that our emphasis on individual student achievement is working," Dr. Erwin said.

"Do we have more work to do? Of course. We want ALL students to increase their academic achievement, and will continue to work on that goal," she said.

Dr. Joanne Bauman, director of assessment, notes that principals, teachers, and administrators will continue to examine a variety of achievement indicators and disaggregate the data to investigate strengths and areas for improvement in curriculum, instruction, teacher training, teacher performance, textbooks and supplemental materials, student preparation, and individual student performance. "The data tells us which way to turn," Dr. Bauman said.

Among the achievement indicators Scottsdale Unified School District looks at are: SAT and ACT participation and scores, participation in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, district assessments (DAP), classroom assessments, Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS), Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), and Stanford 9.

"We look at all of these indicators, along with graduation rates and drop out rates, to continually address how we can improve. In light of Arizona LEARNS and the federal NCLB (No Child Left Behind), we know that Scottsdale Unified is prepared and ahead of the curve, with our continuing efforts to focus on student achievement," Dr. Erwin said.
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