NCEA identifies higher performing schools that meet one or both of the following criteria over the most recent three years: 1) students experience above-predicted growth based on a value-added analysis, or 2) an above- predicted percentage of continuously enrolled students score at the Exceeds Expectations level on Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Both measures identify schools that perform unusually well given the student populations they serve. For a complete description of the analysis, visit our Higher Performing Schools web page at http://www.nc4ea.org/index.cfm/e/higher_performing_methodology/st/arizona.

NCEA's research has frequently shown that state passing/proficiency standards are not high enough to indicate whether students are on track to College and Career Readiness by high school graduation. We have found this to be true for the AIMS Meets Expectations standard. The Exceeds Expectations standard provides a more appropriate measure of whether students are well prepared for postsecondary opportunities. See They Can Pass, But Are They College Ready? at http://nc4ea.org/files/dqc_state_ccr-10-09-08.pdf.

The following categories of schools were not included in the analysis:

• New schools that opened after Fall 2008. The NCEA Higher Performing Schools List is based on schools that are consistently higher performing over three school years: 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011.
• Schools with no state-tested grades. The NCEA Higher Performing Schools List uses AIMS data to determine school achievement. For this reason, we cannot conduct analysis for those grades which are not state tested. For example, a PreK-2 school would have no tested grades.
• Schools with too few students enrolled for a specified period of time. For details, please see Question 4 and the Higher Performing Schools Methodology page on our website.

We define continuously enrolled students as those students who have been enrolled in the school at least three years. If the school's grade span does not allow for three years of continuous enrollment (e.g., a 7th grader at a Grade 6 to 8 campus), continuously enrolled students are those who have been enrolled in the district at least three years and at the school as long as the grade span allows. For grade 10, the continuous enrollment criteria is lowered to two years due to the presence of high school districts in Arizona. For charter schools, continuous enrollment in the district is not required. Typical factors that affect the number of continuously enrolled students in each grade are school size and student mobility.

There are two main reasons why a school does not appear on the NCEA Higher Performing Schools List:

1. Ineligible Schools
   We use data provided by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to compile our Higher Performing Schools List. At times, data issues arise such as the following:
• Too few students.
• School was not open for each of the three years included in the analysis.
• The school's grade span includes only grades with no test data.
2. Student Performance Levels Did Not Qualify
   If a school is eligible but did not make the 2011 List, then its student performance levels did not meet our requirements as listed below:
• The school's percentile rank in NCEA's performance criteria was not high enough to be included.
• The school's performance was not consistent across the three years included in the analysis.
• The school did not meet standards as follows:
• The school did not receive at least "C" on the state rating in the latest year.
• The school did not make AYP in the latest year.
• The school did not test at least 90 percent of students for a subject in the latest year.

The NCEA Higher Performing Schools List is a more select group of schools than the ADE list and is identified by one of two measures (see Question 1). In 2011, ADE rated over 55 percent of Arizona schools as A or B. In comparison, the 2011 NCEA Higher Performing Schools List identifies approximately 13 percent of the state's public schools.

The specific metrics used by NCEA for analysis are different from those used by ADE in the A-F School Accountability Letter-grade System.

• Passing vs. Growth
  The Arizona School Accountability Ratings are partially based on the percentage of students meeting standards on the spring 2011 AIMS. By contrast, the first NCEA measure looks at student growth.
• Higher Standard of Achievement
  The percentage of students exceeding expectations on the AIMS is used for the second NCEA measure rather than the state's Meets Expectations standard.
• More Years of Data
  The NCEA Higher Performing Schools List is based on performance in three school years: 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011. State ratings are based on performance in a single year of data.