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.

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.

In November 2001, Arizona voters approved Proposition 301 which provided funds to the Arizona Department of Education to develop "a system to measure school performance based on student achievement, including student performance on the AIMS test." The accountability system created to satisfy the statute is referred to as AZ LEARNS. The school evaluation given by the Department to each school is referred to as the school's achievement profile. This manual describes the method and processes used to generate the AZ LEARNS achievement profiles. It provides formulas, parameters, and business rules that make up the profile calculation. Its intent is to document and explain the methods used and justify the policies adopted.

Proposition 301 also called for a state accountability system for public schools. The system created to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, commonly referred to as Adequate Yearly Progress, evaluates the performance of local public schools and schools districts, including charter schools.