In 1993, the Arizona-Mexico Commission and its sister organization, the Comisión Sonora-Arizona, initiated a binational strategic economic planning process to analyze how the two neighboring states could increase their regional competitiveness in the world economy and enhance the overall quality of life for their residents. One of the recommendations of the Strategic Economic Development Vision was to develop a set of indicators as a tool to monitor progress toward the goals of binational economic development. The purpose of the Regional Economic Indicators is to help policy and decision-makers understand and monitor economic changes in the Arizona-Sonora region and to support policies that promote economic transformation, investment and entrepreneurship in the region.

This document is intended to help schools identify the strengths and limitations of their instructional practices and organizational conditions. All Arizona schools will use this document to assess their overall performance. The document serves three primary functions: 1) as a blueprint to communicate the high expectations of the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction for all Arizona schools; 2) as a self-assessment tool to be used by the educational community at the local level; and 3) as an external assessment tool to be used by ADE School Improvement Teams. This document may also be used in other appropriate external assessment activities. The document is not to be used for staff evaluation. Instead, the focus is placed on assessing the effectiveness of the school for the purpose of sustained improvement.

This instrument is intended to help schools at all levels of performance assess the strengths and limitations of their instructional practices and organizational conditions. It serves three primary functions:
1. as a blueprint to communicate the high expectations of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for all Arizona schools;
2. as an internal self-assessment tool to be used by the educational community at the local level; and
3. as an external assessment tool to be used by ADE Solutions Teams.