PHOENIX (CBS5/AP) -
More than half of the district and charter schools in Arizona have gotten grades of "B" and "C."
It's the second year the Arizona Department of Education has used the letter grading system to measure school performance.
Of the nearly 1,300 schools graded across Arizona, 283 were awarded "A's" compared to 231 last year. More than half - 865 - got a grade of "B" or "C."
None were given "F" - a grade reserved for those that have been ranked "D" schools for three consecutive years.
AIMS scores also were released Thursday, showing a slight improvement in scores this year across the state in all subject matters.
Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal said 60 percent of the students passed the science assessment. It's a 6 percent increase over 2010 when 54 percent of the students passed the science requirements, according to Huppenthal.
The Arizona Department of Education said the results are compiled from Arizona students in third through eighth grade and in 10th grade. AIMS math and reading tests are taken in each of the required years, writing is taken in grades fifth, sixth, seventh and 10th, and science in grades fourth, eighth and 10th.
Seventy-seven percent of Arizona's students passed the reading assessment - a 4 percentage point increase over 2010 when 73 percent of students passed the reading requirements.
AIMS math scores increased slightly in 2012, with 60 percent of students passing the mathematics assessment compared to 59 percent in 2011, according to the report.
In 2012, 57 percent of students passed the writing test - up 1 percent from the previous year.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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