Dysart High School earned a 92% on the state's 2025-26 letter grades, released Oct. 28. That is the school's fourth straight A, and it ranks 52nd among Arizona's 230 traditional high schools. Nine years ago, Dysart High earned a C and ranked 216th of 269.
Dysart High School 2025-26 state letter grade
- District
- Dysart Unified
- Grade
- A, 92.0%
- Rank in Dysart
- 3rd of 4 high schools
- Rank in Arizona
- 52nd of 230
- Arizona high school median
- 83.4%
- Principal
- Samantha Centeno
Dysart High was the lowest-scoring of Dysart's four high schools in 2016-17, the first year of the state's current grading formula. It moved up to B's for the next three graded years. The state published no grades for 2019-20 or 2020-21. Dysart High has earned an A every year since 2022-23.
| School year | Grade | Score | Rank in Dysart | Rank in Arizona |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | C | 60.7% | 4th of 4 | 216th of 269 |
| 2017-18 | B | 71.4% | 3rd of 4 | 115th of 235 |
| 2018-19 | B | 79.9% | 2nd of 4 | 67th of 226 |
| 2019-20 | No grades issued | |||
| 2020-21 | No grades issued | |||
| 2021-22 | B | 73.0% | 4th of 4 | 126th of 246 |
| 2022-23 | A | 82.4% | 3rd of 4 | 69th of 229 |
| 2023-24 | A | 89.9% | 2nd of 4 | 63rd of 234 |
| 2024-25 | A | Not yet public | ||
| 2025-26 | A | 92.0% | 3rd of 4 | 52nd of 230 |
Ranks are among Dysart's four traditional high schools and among Arizona's traditional high schools, by the state's score. Dysart's online iSchool, graded as a high school in 2021-22 and 2022-23, scored below all four both years. The 2024-25 grade is from Dysart's report to its Governing Board; the state has not posted its final 2024-25 file.
Note: The state's overall percentage, bonus points included. No grades were issued for 2019-20 and 2020-21, and the state has not posted 2024-25 scores. The median is for traditional high schools. Years are school years ending in the year shown. Source: Arizona State Board of Education
Show the data
| year | Dysart High | Arizona high school median |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 60.7% | 71.2% |
| 2018 | 71.4% | 71.1% |
| 2019 | 79.9% | 71.7% |
| 2020 | — | — |
| 2021 | — | — |
| 2022 | 73.0% | 73.5% |
| 2023 | 82.4% | 74.8% |
| 2024 | 89.9% | 81.2% |
| 2025 | — | — |
| 2026 | 92.0% | 83.4% |
How the grade is figured
Arizona grades a high school on five measures. Proficiency, how many students pass the state's tests, is 30% of the grade. Growth, how much their scores improve from one year to the next, is 20%. Graduation is 20%, college and career readiness is 20%, and English learners' progress is 10%. Schools can also earn bonus points on top.
The state's files break each school's grade into those parts.
| Year | Proficiency (30) | Growth (20) | Graduation (20) | Readiness (20) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 12.4 | 14.2 | 15.0 | 11.1 |
| 2018 | 12.6 | 14.2 | 20.0 | 15.6 |
| 2019 | 15.9 | — | 20.0 | 14.8 |
| 2022 | 15.7 | 14.2 | 15.0 | 13.1 |
| 2023 | 18.0 | — | 20.0 | 12.9 |
| 2024 | 18.0 | 19.3 | 20.0 | 16.6 |
| 2026 | 19.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 17.0 |
Years are school years ending in the year shown. The most points possible in each part are in parentheses. The state's files for 2018-19 and 2022-23 give high schools no growth points; those years scored improvement among groups of students instead. Not shown are English learners, where Dysart High earned all 10 points every year except 2017-18 (7) and 2021-22 (9), and was not graded in 2016-17; and bonus points, 2 a year through 2018-19 and 6 a year since.
Growth is where Dysart High has pulled ahead. This year it earned all 20 growth points, one of 16 Arizona high schools to do so. Last year it earned 19.3, more than Dysart's other three high schools.
- Dysart High
- Dysart median
- Arizona median
Note: Growth is 20% of a high school's grade. The state's files have no high school growth points for 2018-19 or 2022-23. The Dysart median is the middle of its four high schools; the Arizona median is for traditional high schools. Source: Arizona State Board of Education
Show the data
| year | Dysart High | Dysart median | Arizona median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 14.2 | 13.5 | 13.2 |
| 2017-18 | 14.2 | 13.1 | 14.0 |
| 2021-22 | 14.2 | 16.8 | 16.2 |
| 2023-24 | 19.3 | 17.4 | 17.3 |
| 2025-26 | 20.0 | 18.3 | 17.1 |
Proficiency has risen too, from 12.4 points in 2016-17 to 19.0 this year, and has been above the state's median since 2018-19. But it is still below the middle of Dysart's high schools, as it has been every graded year.
- Dysart High
- Dysart median
- Arizona median
Note: Proficiency is 30% of a high school's grade. The Dysart median is the middle of its four high schools; the Arizona median is for traditional high schools. Source: Arizona State Board of Education
Show the data
| year | Dysart High | Dysart median | Arizona median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 12.4 | 14.4 | 14.9 |
| 2017-18 | 12.6 | 13.9 | 13.7 |
| 2018-19 | 15.9 | 16.5 | 14.3 |
| 2021-22 | 15.7 | 18.2 | 14.8 |
| 2022-23 | 18.0 | 19.4 | 16.3 |
| 2023-24 | 18.0 | 19.2 | 15.9 |
| 2025-26 | 19.0 | 20.1 | 15.6 |
Graduation explains two of the school's lower years. Dysart High earned 15 of 20 graduation points in 2016-17 and 2021-22, and all 20 in every other year.
College and career readiness
Readiness is Dysart High's weakest part. Its 17.0 of 20 points this year ranks 168th of 228 high schools, and it has been below the state's median every graded year.
The state scores readiness from what a school's seniors have done before graduating. School districts' explanations of the measure list things like passing college-level courses or exams, earning industry credentials and meeting test benchmarks.
It is a gap Dysart's high schools share. The middle of the district's four high schools has trailed the state's median on readiness every graded year, though the gap has narrowed, from 3.8 points in 2016-17 to 0.6 this year.
- Dysart High
- Dysart median
- Arizona median
Note: Readiness is 20% of a high school's grade. The Dysart median is the middle of its four high schools; the Arizona median is for traditional high schools. Source: Arizona State Board of Education
Show the data
| year | Dysart High | Dysart median | Arizona median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 11.1 | 12.9 | 16.7 |
| 2017-18 | 15.6 | 15.4 | 16.4 |
| 2018-19 | 14.8 | 16.2 | 17.4 |
| 2021-22 | 13.1 | 14.7 | 16.1 |
| 2022-23 | 12.9 | 16.1 | 17.1 |
| 2023-24 | 16.6 | 17.0 | 18.1 |
| 2025-26 | 17.0 | 18.1 | 18.7 |
A higher curve
Dysart High's rise came as grades rose across Arizona. The state's median high school scored 71.2% in 2016-17 and 83.4% this year. About one in five Arizona high schools earned an A in 2016-17; this year, 128 of 230 did.
Part of that is in how the grade is built. Since 2022-23, the state has split the 20 graduation points into 10 for a school's graduation rate and 10 for improving it. This year, 85% of high schools earned all 10 rate points and 76% earned all 10 improvement points. Dysart's four high schools have earned all 20 every year since the split.
Bonus points add more. Dysart High's 6 bonus points this year are the difference between 86.0% and 92.0%. The Arizona Auditor General reported in June that bonus points were "potentially inflating" grades statewide, and the State Board of Education has voted to drop them.
Even so, Dysart High has moved up against other schools, not only with them. Its rank among Arizona high schools went from 216th in 2016-17 to 52nd this year.
At the school
Principal Samantha Centeno and a team of Dysart High English teachers presented their work to the Governing Board on Aug. 24, 2026. Centeno said the school had spread teachers from last year's junior English team into new courses and grade levels. Her slide put the reason this way: "Our goal is not one high-functioning PLC. Our goal is a system." PLC stands for professional learning community, the teams of teachers who plan and review student work together.
The team reported that Dysart High's average ACT composite score rose from 16.6 in 2025 to 17.8 in 2026, and its reading score from 16.5 to 18.2.
The teachers described weekly skill checks in 10th grade English, comparing results question by question across classrooms, and giving the pre-ACT to every sophomore at the end of the year to plan 11th grade instruction.
Dysart High also earned a B in 2013-14, under the state's earlier grading formula. That formula used a different scale, so its scores do not compare with the current ones.