Arizona Schools

    As part of No Child Left Behind, Arizona’s more than 1 million students are excelling. All students tested in 2005—grades 3, 5, 8, and 10—showed marked improvement in Math and Reading from the testing in 2004.

However, Arizona dropped two ranks to 50 out of 50 in the “Smartest State” ranking, despite a budget of $7 billion in the 2004-05 school year, spending more than $6300 per student. (The “Smartest State” rankings are based on student achievement, positive outcomes and personal attention from teachers.) Part of Arizona’s problem its dropout rates for all nationalities are higher than then national average, especially in the Hispanic and Native American populations. These two ethnicities have the highest overall dropout rates at 7.6% and 10% respectively. Asian students have the lowest dropout rate at 2.4%. There is some good news, however. Arizona’s dropout rates are down significantly from those in 2001 for all nationalities.

To help meet graduation and other NCLB requirements, Arizona school superintendent Tom Horne and school administrators themselves are encouraging parental involvement in their students’ school lives as this has been shown to improve student performance. Mr. Horne is also implementing a policy of backing up teachers who need to discipline disruptive students rather than bowing to parents’ complaints.

Arizona commemorates the anniversary of September 11 with various activities in every grade ranging from kindergarteners learning the significance of the National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance to high school seniors discussing the history of terrorism and the impact of 9-11 on the entire world.

Arizona’s Department of Education website is: http://www.ade.state.az.us.