The Arizona State Board of Education has given the Fountain Hills Charter School a grade of “F’ in its yearly assessment of public and charter schools.

The State Board’s A-F grading system is designed to measures year-to-year student academic growth and proficiency in English language arts, math and science.

In a letter addressed to the friends and family of the school, Fountain Hills Charter School, Inc. President Doug Pike announced the grade.

“It is with a measure of frustration but also in the interest of full transparency that we inform you of the impending release of a state grade of ‘F’ for our campus,” Pike said. “We ask for your support and understanding that this grade is not a reflection of who we are or of what we have worked hard, together, to become. The ‘F’ is derived from a series of analysis of two days in the life of our students, two days last year in the turmoil of change.”

FHCS plans to work with the Department of Education to have the F grade removed through an appeals process.

The change Pike referenced in the letter came as a result of several FHCS staff unexpectedly leaving in the spring of last school year.

“We had to bring in a long-term sub as well as make new hires,” Pike explained. “There was an adjustment period for them as they learned our systems. It was all out of the children’s hands.”

This transitional period happened just before students took the AzMerit test which, according to Pike, affected student readiness and, in turn, their performance on the state test.

According to Pike the AzMerit test accounts for the vast majority of the judged material in the State’s assessment of a school.

FHCS students have struggled with the AzMerit test since the test’s introduction in 2016.

There was a slight improvement between 2016 and 2017’s results but 2018 saw a sharp decline in the percent of students who passed the test.

In 2017, 46 FHCS students took the AzMerit test and 39 percent passed. Comparatively, in 2018, 31 FHCS students took the state test and only 23 percent passed.

Pike says the school is aware of the downward trend of AzMerit test scores for FHCS students and has made changes to address the issue.

“Because of the test results the school made some major management changes last year,” Pike said. “Unfortunately, our involvement last year was too late.”