Every year Arizona law requires that schools be given a letter grade based on student academic achievement. The letter grades give parents and the community an indication of how their schools are doing. They also help school administrators and board members identify issues needing to be addressed. The formula for calculating the grades looks at the percentage of students testing well on the AASA and ACT. It also compares how well a student did the year before to other students across the state at the same level to see how well schools are supporting student growth. The district's grade is calculated by averaging the grades for the individual schools.
| 2022 | 2023 | |
| High School | A | A |
| Jr. High School | C | C |
| Elementary School | F | B |
| Pima Schools | C | B |
The High School received its second A letter grade. The Junior High continues to receive a C. Research shows it is more difficult for a school with only 7th and 8th grades to perform at the A or B level. The Elementary School received a B, which is a marked improvement from last year's F letter grade. The improvement at the Elementary School pushed the district's letter grade from a C up to a B.
It is important to remember that the letter grade is based almost entirely on how well students perform on a single test given during a single day. We are glad to see improvement in our scores, but it is the hard work our teachers do every day to show our students how much they care that makes Pima a great place to go to school. Likewise, it is the love and respect our community shows to our teachers that make Pima Schools a great place to work.