Thatcher High School has highest AIMS scores

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer
Published on Sunday, July 25, 2010 4:01 PM MST

Thatcher High School had the highest percentage of Graham County students pass all parts of the AIMS test, according to results released by the Arizona Department of Education.

AIMS, which stands for Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards, tests students in third through 10th grades. High school students must pass all parts of the AIMS test to receive high school diplomas.

The Courier is reporting middle school and high school AIMS results in Graham County’s four largest school districts — Safford, Thatcher, Pima and Fort Thomas. Parents can contact their children’s schools or visit the Arizona Department of Education’s Web site, www.azed.gov, for more detailed information on the AIMS test outcomes.

A news release from the ADE states that AIMS reading scores increased throughout the state in sixth through 10th grades, while new math standards caused a slight dip in math scores.

“When you adopt more rigorous standards, you know in advance that it will have some negative impact on the state test scores,” said Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction.

Test results show that 60 percent of Thatcher High students and 48 percent of the Safford High students who took the AIMS exam passed the math test.

In reading, 73 percent of the Safford students and 80 percent of the Thatcher students passed AIMS.

A summary of the percentage of students who passed AIMS follows:

• Math — seventh grade, Safford, 59; Thatcher, 78; Pima, 33; Fort Thomas, 23. Eighth grade, Safford, 65; Thatcher, 69; Pima, 49; Fort Thomas, 8. High School, Safford, 48; Thatcher, 60; Pima, 41; Fort Thomas, 13.

• Reading — seventh grade, Safford, 82; Thatcher, 91; Pima, 70; Fort Thomas, 62. Eighth grade, Safford, 79; Thatcher, 86; Pima, 68; Fort Thomas, 38.

• Writing (seventh and 10th grades only) — seventh grade, Safford, 79; Thatcher, 80; Pima, 52; Fort Thomas, 59. Tenth grade, Safford, 66; Thatcher, 72; Pima, 57; Fort Thomas, 44.

• Science (eighth and 10th grades only) — eighth grade, Safford, 64; Thatcher, 81; Pima, 54; Fort Thomas, 23. Tenth grade, Safford, 15; Thatcher, 48; Pima, 46; Fort Thomas, 11.

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Comments

9 comment(s)

Cheech wrote on Aug 4, 2010 1:41 PM:

" What's up with Pima? Does only a few miles of road really make that much of a difference? Time to take a second look at that administration. "

JEL wrote on Jul 28, 2010 7:04 PM:

" Not to add fuel to the Safford vs. Thatcher crap that always seems to creep it's way into EVERYTHING that happens in the valley, but I just want to make one thing clear. The only students, special ed or not, that are exempt from taking the AIMS test are those students with an IEP that specifically states they do not need to take the AIMS test. So Thatcher would have been required to test all special ed students that were not exempt by virtue of their IEP. "

To SHS Alumni wrote on Jul 26, 2010 6:36 PM:

" All students are tested at all our valley schools. There is no option on this. Everyone wants to make excuses why one school scored better than theirs. What will be next maybe that Thatcher has no special ed kids. Safford Alumni you sound like you m ay have problems passing the AIMS test. Great Job to Thatcher High School. Also Great job to Thatchers Jack Daley Primary School for being the only Excelling School in the Valley. And yes they did test their Special Ed. students. "

in response wrote on Jul 26, 2010 5:21 PM:

" Great is correct. Many things contribute to student test scores. It's great that Thatcher has done so well, but it would be interesting to see the demographic info for each district. "

joe7127 wrote on Jul 26, 2010 4:57 PM:

" I thought Solomon was in Graham county also or they don't Aims test there kids. "

great wrote on Jul 26, 2010 4:01 PM:

" There are great schools in the valley. It might have been good to have listed a few reasons to why this might be the case. I would like to know the percentage of free or reduced lunch in each district. Also, what is the percentage of 2 parent families in each district. These are great indicators of student test scoring. It would also be interesting to see the average class size as well as highest education reached by parents. Basically there are so many variables, that could have contributed to this story. A little misleading "

Wow... wrote on Jul 26, 2010 12:49 PM:

" Wow! What is the story with Ft. Thomas? "

SHS Alumni wrote on Jul 26, 2010 12:49 PM:

" Amazing that the paper forgets to add that THS doesn't test Special Ed kids and Safford does. There are many variables to the situation. I encourage anyone to talk to a SHS teacher and get the real facts. "

Eagle Forever wrote on Jul 25, 2010 9:22 PM:

" Congrats Thatcher Schools! It makes me very proud to see the standard of excellence continues at Thatcher. I am very thankful for the education I received from THS and I would not send my kids anywhere else! Keep up the good work. "

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