The Utah State Board of Education released new statewide school assessments on Thursday, replacing single grades with three or four rankings per school.
The first three rankings — achievement, growth and the progress of English learners — are based on various test scores. For high schools, an added evaluation of students' postsecondary readiness is based on ACT scores and graduation rates.
In each ranking, a school is considered exemplary, commendable, typical, developing or critical needs. The Utah Legislature defines those terms as essentially replacing A through F grades, with exemplary akin to an A and critical needs as an F.