Five years ago, the world was thrown into chaos when the COVID-19 pandemic tore through communities like wildfire. We were sent into a quarantine lockdown, and life seemed like it would never return to normal.

While we did eventually return to some sense of normalcy, not everything remained the same. Students had been learning remotely for months, and upon their return, the consequences of this became clear. Illiteracy was on the rise, and now, Arizona has a plan to bring students back to the books.

Declining Literacy in Arizona

Before life shut down in 2020, Arizona third graders were reading proficiently at around 46%. Obviously this wasn’t perfect, but it matched the rest of America. Now, that number has dropped to 39%, a 7% decrease.

In 2024, it was discovered that only half of those third graders were scoring as minimally proficient on English Language Arts. This is troubling, as studies show that one in six children who cannot read proficiently in third grade will not graduate High School on time. Arizona is creeping closer and closer to a higher number in that regard.

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What's the Solution?

Arizona’s plan runs over the course of five years, starting with expanding the number of early education literacy coaches to 50 by 2026. By 2027, the state hopes to upgrade to higher quality learning materials, and by 2028, all educators will be certified in The Science of Reading. 

2029 is the last major step, investing in Preschool education to ensure future students do not reach the lows of the Pandemic classes. By 2030, the state hopes to reduce Chronic Absence levels to where they were before the Pandemic. With a clear goal in mind, and steps to take, it looks certain that Arizona Education will drag itself out of the mess it’s been in, and skyrocket back to the top of America’s education standards.