New data from the Arizona Department of Education is showing a majority of students are failing standardized tests.
Spring 2025 standardized testing assessments show a 40% passing rate for English, with math even lower — at 33% — for Arizona’s third through eighth grade students.
Last year’s assessment scores were not much different. Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia said funding cuts to public education are to blame for the stagnant numbers.
"And right now our state Legislature has been unable to meet the needs of our kids. And we all have a chance to put pressure on our elected officials who are there to represent ourselves as we voted for them to do something about our public school funding," Garcia said.
Garcia said Arizona continues to rank last when it comes to funding, class size and teacher salaries.
Another big problem with these tests, she says, is the timing.
"These tests also happen six weeks before the end of the school year, and we rarely get the data back until the fall of the following year. So when I test my students in eighth grade, I won't know their scores until the fall of the next year when they've already gone to high school," Garcia said.
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In this special edition of KJZZ’s Friday NewsCap, we are focusing on one of the most important issues facing our state: education.
