SE Arizona News

Only 30% of 874 Santa Cruz County students passed their ACT English Language Arts test in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Arizona Department of Education.

The students who took the ACT test were assessed at four proficiency levels in two subjects: ELA and mathematics. Those achieving proficiency levels one and two failed the test, while students reaching the third and fourth proficiency levels passed the test.

Of the 262 students who passed the test, most achieved proficiency level three (218).

A 2023 study from Scholaroo ranked Arizona last out of all U.S. states in terms of educational success, giving the state poor marks for school quality, student success, and teacher-to-student ratio.

In 2022 Arizona had roughly one teacher for every 19 students, compared to the national average of one teacher for 16 students. Teachers handling a higher number of students were associated with a decline in students' academic achievement.

Some data provided by the Arizona Department of Education may be incomplete due to the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

School Name	% Who Passed	Total students tested
Nogales High School	40%	418
Rio Rico High School	22%	342