Press Release

February 11, 2025

Contact: Sam Stockwell
samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu
617.495.0342

Arizona ranked 41st among states in terms of the change in achievement in math and 35th in reading between 2019 and 2024.

Average student achievement in Arizona remains roughly 60 percent of a grade equivalent below 2019 levels in both reading and math.

Some districts, such as Mesa Unified, Sunnyside Unified, Cartwright Elementary, Kyrene Elementary and Glendale Elementary remain 80 percent or more of a grade equivalent behind.

(February 11, 2025) In its third year of reporting on the pace of academic recovery measures in districts nationwide, the Education Recovery Scorecard (a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University) is issuing its annual report on district-level student growth in math and reading.

The latest report also provides the first high resolution picture of where Arizona students’ academic recovery stood in Spring 2024, just before federal relief dollars expired in September. While the National Assessment of Educational Progress described changes in average achievement by state, we combine those scores with district scores on state assessments to describe the change in local communities throughout Arizona. Here’s what we found:

  • Arizona ranked 41st among states in terms of the change in achievement in math and 35th in reading between 2019 and 2024.
  • Average student achievement in Arizona remains roughly 60 percent of a grade equivalent below 2019 levels in both reading (.58 grade equivalents) and math (.66 grade equivalents). In other words, the loss in achievement in Arizona is equivalent to 60 percent of the progress students typically make annually between grades 4 through grade 8. Some districts, such as Mesa Unified, Sunnyside Unified, Cartwright Elementary, Kyrene Elementary and Glendale Elementary remain 80 percent or more of a grade equivalent behind.
  • Yet some Arizona districts have recovered. 6 percent of students are enrolled in districts who are scoring above 2019 levels in math, 5 percent in reading and 1 percent in both subjects. Examples of districts which have recovered (or nearly recovered) in both reading and math include Dysart Unified, Gilbert Unified, Paradise Valley Unified, and Marana Unified.
  • Arizona received $4.0 billion in federal pandemic relief for K-12 schools—or roughly $3,500 per student. Nationally, our analysis suggests that the dollars did contribute to the academic recovery, especially when it was targeted at academic catch-up efforts such as summer learning and tutoring.

The federal pandemic relief dollars may be gone now, but the pandemic’s impact lingers in many Arizona schools. Even without federal relief dollars, the state could be targeting continuing federal Title I dollars and state dollars to implement interventions which have been shown effective. State leaders, mayors, employers and other community leaders should join schools in tackling the shared challenge of reducing student absenteeism.

One of the project leaders, Professor Tom Kane from Harvard, said: “Unless state and local leaders step up now, the achievement losses will be the longest lasting– and most inequitable– legacy of the pandemic.”

For the national press release and findings click here.

About the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University 

The Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, seeks to transform education through quality research and evidence. CEPR and its partners believe all students will learn and thrive when education leaders make decisions using facts and findings, rather than untested assumptions. Learn more at cepr.harvard.edu.

Contact: Sam Stockwell, samuel_stockwell@gse.harvard.edu, (617) 495-0342

District Fact Sheets

Statewide Data
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Cave Creek Unified District 4244 - 0400001
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Chino Valley Unified District 4474 - 0400003
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Clarkdale Jerome Elementary District 4486 - 0400004
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Colorado City Unified District 4370 - 0400021
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Pinon Unified District 4390 - 0400023
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Heber Overgaard Unified District 4392 - 0400026
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Benson Unified School District 79226 - 0400212
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Kingman Unified School District 79598 - 0400295
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Alhambra Elementary District 4280 - 0400600
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Amphitheater Unified District 4406 - 0400680
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Apache Junction Unified District 4443 - 0400790
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Avondale Elementary District 4272 - 0400960
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Bagdad Unified District 4468 - 0401000
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Balsz Elementary District 4268 - 0401050
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Bisbee Unified District 4169 - 0401180
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Buckeye Elementary District 4269 - 0401380
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Sierra Vista Unified District 4175 - 0401460
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Bullhead City School District 4378 - 0401500
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Camp Verde Unified District 4470 - 0401600
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Cartwright Elementary District 4282 - 0401680
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Casa Grande Elementary District 4446 - 0401710
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Catalina Foothills Unified District 4410 - 0401760
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Chandler Unified District 80 4242 - 0401870
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Chinle Unified District 4158 - 0401940
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Continental Elementary District 4416 - 0402250
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Coolidge Unified District 4442 - 0402320
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Cottonwood Oak Creek Elementary District 4487 - 0402370
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Crane Elementary District 4501 - 0402400
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Creighton Elementary District 4263 - 0402430
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Douglas Unified District 4174 - 0402530
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Dysart Unified District 4243 - 0402690
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Eloy Elementary District 4448 - 0402790
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Flagstaff Unified District 4192 - 0402860
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Florence Unified School District 4437 - 0402920
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Flowing Wells Unified District 4405 - 0403010
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Fountain Hills Unified District 4247 - 0403040
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Fowler Elementary District 4273 - 0403060
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Fort Huachuca Accommodation District 4167 - 0403150
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Fort Thomas Unified District 4221 - 0403200
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Gadsden Elementary District 4505 - 0403240
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Gilbert Unified District 4239 - 0403400
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Glendale Elementary District 4271 - 0403420
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Globe Unified District 4208 - 0403500
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Higley Unified School District 4248 - 0403780
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Holbrook Unified District 4389 - 0403820
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Humboldt Unified District 4469 - 0403870
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Baboquivari Unified School District 40 4412 - 0403950
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Isaac Elementary District 4259 - 0403960
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J O Combs Unified School District 4445 - 0403990
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Joseph City Unified District 4388 - 0404010
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Kayenta Unified School District 27 4396 - 0404060
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Kyrene Elementary District 4267 - 0404230
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Lake Havasu Unified District 4368 - 0404280
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Laveen Elementary District 4276 - 0404290
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Liberty Elementary District 4266 - 0404320
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Litchfield Elementary District 4281 - 0404380
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Littleton Elementary District 4278 - 0404440
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Madison Elementary District 4270 - 0404500
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Mammoth San Manuel Unified District 4439 - 0404570
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Marana Unified District 4404 - 0404630
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Maricopa Unified School District 4441 - 0404720
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Altar Valley Elementary District 4418 - 0404770
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Mayer Unified School District 4473 - 0404820
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Mesa Unified District 4235 - 0404970
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Mohave Valley Elementary District 4379 - 0405190
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Morenci Unified District 4230 - 0405320
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Murphy Elementary District 4265 - 0405400
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Nadaburg Unified School District 4252 - 0405460
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Nogales Unified District 4457 - 0405530
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Osborn Elementary District 4262 - 0405670
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Page Unified District 4196 - 0405820
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Palo Verde Elementary District 4275 - 0405850
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Palominas Elementary District 4180 - 0405880
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Paradise Valley Unified District 4241 - 0405930
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Parker Unified School District 4510 - 0405980
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Payson Unified District 4209 - 0406070
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Pendergast Elementary District 4283 - 0406210
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Peoria Unified School District 4237 - 0406250
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Phoenix Elementary District 4256 - 0406300
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Pima Unified District 4220 - 0406440
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Blue Ridge Unified School District No 32 4397 - 0406580
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Prescott Unified District 4466 - 0406730
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Queen Creek Unified District 4245 - 0406810
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Red Rock Elementary District 4447 - 0406900
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Riverside Elementary District 4257 - 0407020
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Roosevelt Elementary District 4279 - 0407080
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Round Valley Unified District 4155 - 0407130
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Saddle Mountain Unified School District 4254 - 0407170
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Safford Unified District 4218 - 0407240
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Sahuarita Unified District 4411 - 0407300
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Santa Cruz Valley Unified District 4458 - 0407520
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Scottsdale Unified District 4240 - 0407570
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Show Low Unified District 4393 - 0407700
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Deer Valley Unified District 4246 - 0407750
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Snowflake Unified District 4391 - 0407820
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Somerton Elementary District 4500 - 0407890
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St Johns Unified District 4153 - 0408080
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Sunnyside Unified District 4407 - 0408170
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Superior Unified School District 4440 - 0408230
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Tanque Verde Unified District 4408 - 0408280
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Tempe School District 4258 - 0408310
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Thatcher Unified District 4219 - 0408410
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Tolleson Elementary District 4264 - 0408490
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Toltec School District 4450 - 0408550
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Tombstone Unified District 4168 - 0408600
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Tuba City Unified School District 15 4197 - 0408680
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Tucson Unified District 4403 - 0408800
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Union Elementary District 4277 - 0408820
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Vail Unified District 4413 - 0408850
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Washington Elementary School District 4260 - 0409060
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Whiteriver Unified District 4394 - 0409160
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Wickenburg Unified District 4236 - 0409190
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Willcox Unified District 4170 - 0409250
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Williams Unified District 4193 - 0409310
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Wilson Elementary District 4261 - 0409390
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Window Rock Unified District 4154 - 0409430
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Winslow Unified District 4387 - 0409460
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Yuma Elementary District 4499 - 0409600
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