LETTER: Don’t hold up Arizona to emulate when it comes to education

In a recent editorial, the Review-Journal advised Nevada officials to look to Arizona as a leader on school choice. You added that the governor of Arizona said his state has long been a pioneer in educational choice.

But why would anyone look to a state that is last in education, even lower than Nevada? According to scholaroo.com, Arizona is 45th out of 50 for school safety, 46th for success and last in school quality. Ironically, the Arizona Department of Education has identified one issue which may contribute to these low rankings. Apparently, Arizona has an average student-to-counselor ratio of 716-to-1 when the recommended standard is 250-to-1. This ratio is, coincidentally, the worst in the nation. Oh, and Arizona ranks 48th and 49th in funding and spending on education.

So instead of Arizona and all its entities tackling the state’s poor education performance, they decide to pass a massive school choice bill. That way, the elected officials can say it’s out of their hands … that it’s the parents’ fault for not making good choices.

Arizona is hardly the state to emulate for good education, no matter how the Review-Journal wants to cherry pick it.