Aligned Curriculum

The state of Arizona already dictates the alignment of curriculum for grades K-12. At the primary grade levels all grades are taught the same curriculum throughout the state. At the secondary levels the state standards dictate what is taught in each course. Review the state standards and how they are broken down by each grade level at www.ade.state.az.us/standards/contentstandards.asp

All districts are required to align their curriculum to the state standards, this will not change because of unification. Each Governing Board in Litchfield, Avondale and Agua Fria districts has affirmed their districts alignment to these standards. See the state requirements at www.ade.state.az.us/sa/cia/.

Do high schools in unified districts out perform schools in non-unified districts?

The answer to this is no. Look at the school listed on the excelling, highly performing and performing plus schools listed on the state website at... You will find schools from both union high school districts and unified districts. In fact you can argue that by percentage of high schools in unified or non-unified districts that non-unified districts out perform unified districts. In the 2006-2007 School Year (the last data listed in the state website), 100% of non-unified high schools where listed as performing, performing plus, highly performing and excelling, while in unified districts 6.7% of high schools where listed as Underperforming. You can download this data for yourself from the Arizona Department of Education website at www.ade.state.az.us/profile/publicview/AZLEARNSProfile2008.xls

2006-2007 State Achievement Underperforming Schools by District Type

Remember to Vote YES on the School Overrides. This will not raise taxes. For more information, visit www.continuethequality.org