By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via PinalCentral
Arizona schools are near the bottom of the barrel nationally when academics, class size and even student bullying are considered, at least according to a financial advice web site.
The new study from WalletHub comes as education takes center stage in this year’s political races. Arizona ranks 47th out of 51, with only Alaska, the District of Columbia, Louisiana and New Mexico ranking lower overall.
Incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey has come under fire for his slow response to providing adequate funding for education and bringing per-student funding back to pre-recession levels. And there are two measures on the November ballot dealing with whether the state has adequate funds to provide quality public education for all.
There were some areas where Arizona schools look better than much of the rest of the nation.
For example, just 6.2 percent of students participated in violence in 2017. Only eight states had lower rates.
