The Arizona State Board of Education voted unanimously on August 24, 2026, to remove bonus points from the state's A-F school letter grade system, according to KAWC. The change is projected to affect about 10 percent of schools when grades for the 2026-27 school year are released in October 2027.
High schools previously could receive up to 9 bonus points for factors such as high special education enrollment, high 9th-grade participation in the ACT Aspire exam, high postsecondary and military enrollment, and student achievement on the state's science assessment, the Arizona Auditor General found. The state's report card website listed only 6 bonus points available, but business rules allowed up to 9.
With bonus points included, a high school could earn an A with as few as 73 of 100 indicator points or a B with as few as 56 of 100 indicator points, effectively lowering the threshold for top grades, the Auditor General reported.
Projected impact of removing bonus points
The Auditor General's analysis of 2024-2025 letter grade data found that without bonus points, 149 fewer schools statewide would have received an A, dropping from 586 to 437. B grades would increase by 61, and C grades by 65. Bonus points boosted the grades of 66 high schools to an A or B.
Sean Smith, chief accountability officer for the Arizona Department of Education, told the Board the bonus points were started as an incentive for schools to excel but ended up unbalancing how schools compared in academic performance, according to KTAR. He said approximately one in 10 schools will drop a full letter grade without them.
How the grading system works
The K-8 letter grade model allocates: proficiency 30 percent, English language learners 10 percent, growth 30 percent, and acceleration/readiness 30 percent. The high school model allocates: proficiency 20 percent, ELL 10 percent, growth 20 percent, graduation 20 percent, and college and career readiness 20 percent, according to the Auditor General.
Current cut points require K-8 schools to earn at least 84 percent of points for an A and 72 percent for a B. High schools need at least 82 percent for an A and 65 percent for a B. These cut points were approved by the State Board in 2018 for K-8 and in 2022 for high schools and have not been updated since.
Comparative and research context
The Auditor General reviewed school accountability systems in multiple states and found that Arizona was the only state among those reviewed that awarded bonus points as part of its letter grade formula. Other states relied on cut points and indicator weights alone.
Among states reviewed, Florida required the lowest portion of points for an A grade, 65 percent. Alabama required the highest, 90 percent, using traditional A-F cut points. Most other states used cut points similar to Arizona's. The Auditor General calculated that if Arizona adopted traditional A-F cut points, about 50 percent of schools would receive A or B, a 28-percentage-point decrease from current distribution.
Mississippi has statutory criteria for adjusting letter grade cut points to raise performance standards depending on the percentage of students achieving proficiency or the percentage of schools earning B letter grades, in contrast to Arizona's approach of maintaining consistent cut points year over year.
The Auditor General's June 2026 performance audit found that the letter grade system does not clearly communicate school performance because it awarded A or B grades to over 77 percent of schools, enabled schools to earn the majority of points from non-proficiency indicators, used cut points unchanged for several years, and made bonus points available that potentially inflated grades. The audit recommended revising letter grade definitions, evaluating indicator measurement scales, reviewing other state practices, and validating self-reported data. Both the Department and State Board agreed with the findings and committed to implementing recommendations.
The August 24 vote was the first in a series of expected decisions. The next vote will determine which indicators that previously earned bonus points will be integrated into the standard grading formula rather than awarded as supplemental points, according to KTAR.