Charter Schools - Transforming Public Education
For thousands of parents and students in Arizona, public charter schools are the preferred choice in education.
In the 2021 school year, over 232,000 students attended more than 560 Arizona charter schools – that’s a record! Over the past 10 years, Arizona charter schools have added about 10,000 students each year. About 28 percent of Arizona’s public schools are charters.
Our state’s public charter schools also serve a diverse student population, reflecting Arizona’s evolving demographics. In fact, the charter school sector currently serves higher percentages of African-American, Asian, and multiracial students than districts. As the graph below shows, 59 percent of Arizona charter students identify in racial and ethnic groups other than white in the 2019-2020 school year.
Arizona charter schools have also raised the bar academically. From 2015 to 2021, charter schools had higher State test score passing rates than the state average. Nearly every racial and ethnic subgroup of students in every grade level posted higher pass rates in charter schools than their district peers. Use the dashboard below to explore trends in State Test Scores 2015 to 2021.
Click here to view.
Quality Standards
Developed by the Arizona Charter Schools Association with the support of a federal grant, the Quality Standards Evaluation Tool is a set of guidelines used by school leaders and teachers to increase student achievement and strengthen school sustainability.