Cave Creek,  Deer Valley get high marks
Staff reports

NORTH VALLEY – Both Cave Creek and Deer Valley school districts received high marks from the state last week as the state achievement profiles were released.

Of the eight schools in the Cave Creek district, seven received the label of Excelling, according to a press release from the district.

Excelling is the highest label a school can earn on a graded scale according to the AZ LEARNS Achievement Profiles for the 2005 ‑2006 school year.

AZ LEARNS is a rating system which measures schools based on their Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores, the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP), Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and Graduation/Dropout rates.

The school district’s newest school, Horseshoe Trails Elementary, was rated as Highly Performing.

Eleven Deer Valley district schools earned the rating of Excelling: Arrowhead, Copper Creek, Desert Sage, Gavilan Peak, Greenbrier, Highland Lakes, Hillcrest Middle, Legend Springs, Mountain Ridge High School, Sierra Verde, and Stetson Hills, according to a press release from the DVUSD.  Hillcrest Middle School earned the Excelling label for the 4th year in a row.

All Deer Valley schools rated as Excelling, Highly Performing, Performing Plus or Performing. Of these, 65% are Excelling and Highly Performing and nine schools improved from Highly Performing to Excelling.

Reporter Kathleen Stinson contributed to this story.