PHOENIX — Arizona’s public school system is worse than other states, according to a recent study that looked at several education metrics.
The Consumer Affairs study looked at K-12 school performance, school funding and resources, quality of higher education, and school safety.
“Unfortunately, we discovered that [Arizona] It ranked poorly in almost every category we looked at,” said consumer affairs director Lauren Jobe.
Why are Arizona schools ranked so low?
Arizona came in near the bottom in terms of education funding, one spot ahead of Utah.
It also ranked in the bottom 10 for quality of higher education and school safety.
The state’s highest ranking was 40th out of 51 schools (including the District of Columbia) in overall K-12 performance.
However, the study shows that when all these categories are combined, Arizona ranks last, just behind Alabama.
Jobe said funding is the biggest issue holding back Arizona schools.
“One of the main drivers of that is our student-teacher ratio, which is one of the highest in the nation at 23 students to one teacher,” Jobe said.
Arizona spends about $13,000 per student, ranking seventh lowest, according to the Consumer Affairs Agency.
Overall, she says, the lowest-ranking states have several common factors, including overcrowded classrooms, poor test scores and struggling graduation rates.
“Without that foundation, everything else falls apart,” Jobe said.
The study also showed that public schools perform mixedly when it comes to test scores, with SAT scores in the top 20 but ACT scores in the bottom third.
What other areas does Arizona rank low in?
Although much of the research focused on the education indicators themselves, researchers also considered school safety in their rankings.
One of the main reasons Arizona scored so low in this category, at 45 out of 51, is because the state does not have a dedicated school safety commission.
We have a school safety program that helps fund things like police officers and counselors on campus.
However, due to a shortage of police officers in the Valley, some schools are having problems with police staffing.
We look forward to hearing your opinions.
Have a story idea or tip? Tell it to the KTAR News team here.
