Arizona school test scores showed modest gains through 2019, when Arizona Superintendent Kathy Hoffman took office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, student performance dropped — as it did across the country.
Arizona school test scores showed modest gains since 2015, including through 2019, when Superintendent Kathy Hoffman took office.Student test scores dropped nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the latest report from the National Center for Education Statistics, in reading, the country had the largest decline since 1990, and the first decline in mathematics since national testing began.School test scores are being used to score points in the race for Arizona’s top education seat.
Hoffman took office in January 2019. That gave her about 14 months before COVID closed schools and put students into online learning. We looked at whether test scores fell on her watch, and how they compared with previous years. Arizona Department of Education records show that the passing rate for sections of the AZMerit dating back to 2015 ranged from 38% to 41% before Hoffman.to the Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment.By Luiz Romero • August 31, 2022Standardized testing in Arizona takes place in the spring. Hoffman had been superintendent for four months when students were tested in her first year.standardized testing that year. Testing resumed in 2021 and the damage to test scores was striking.