Alabama public schools and school systems have been assigned letter grades for performance in new report cards released Friday by the State Department of Education.

The latest report cards include enhanced graphics and features to make it easier to view data and compare school systems, state education officials said. This is the third academic year that the letter grades have been released.

“We hope this can be used a catapult to jumpstart conversations about what is working in public schools as well as identifying areas that may need support and/or additional resources,” State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey said in a statement.

The grades are based not just on the latest test scores, but how much students improve in reading and math from one year to the next.

The report cards include information about the percentage of students proficient in subjects, information on academic growth and chronic absenteeism at each school.

The cards also include demographics about the school and school system and the credentials and experience of educators at the school.

Legislators in 2012 voted to require A-F grades for schools and school systems.

The school report cards can be viewed at the state department website. (Editor’s note: The State Department of Education’s website has seemed to experience problems since the release, so if the site doesn’t load, try again in a few minutes).