Arizona Leads in School Choice, But Faces Urgent Literacy Challenges

Arizona continues to receive national recognition for granting families significant authority over their children's education. According to the Center for Education Reform's 2025 Parent Power Index, the state is ranked second in the country, with an overall grade of A. 

The report endorses Arizona's school choice regulations, its resilient charter school network, and education savings programs, which provide parents with flexible finances to select the best learning settings for their children.

The Parent Power Index analyzes states based on criteria such as school choice, charter school excellence, and educational innovation. Arizona performed very well in areas that allow parents to personalize their children's education, such as universal Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), various tax credit scholarships, and a thriving charter school industry. Arizona's ESA program now serves more than 86,000 students.

Katie Nelligan, a research fellow at the Center for Education Reform, cited these reasons as contributing to the state's high rating.

“You see a multitude of different schools specializing anywhere from children with autism all the way to hybrid models that allow parents again to access educational models that might not be present in the traditional system.” Katie Nelligan said. 

Arizona's charter schools have earned special attention, including distinction for institutions such as Arizona Autism Charter Schools, which won the 2022 Yass Prize for Innovative Education. However, the research also highlighted financing differences and political opposition, which might present future difficulties for growth.

Despite these qualities, Arizona continues to have major gaps in student outcomes, notably in primary reading competence. Gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson, a former Arizona Board of Regents member and long-time education advocate, believes that third-grade reading is a major issue that must be addressed immediately.

“Arizona has done a really good job in certain areas when it comes to education. In particular school choice and parental involvement, school choice, we have more kids enrolled in charter schools per capita than any other state and nation.” Karrin Taylor Robson said in an interview with Cactus Politics. “Currently Arizona's third grade reading proficiency lags the nation, and the nation's third grade reading proficiency is only in the 60% percentile, but in Arizona, it's in the 30s.”

Robson emphasized the importance of reaching reading proficiency by third grade, citing research that links early literacy to long-term academic success.

“We are doing a disservice to keep passing them along if they don't know how to read,” she said. “they're going to continue to fall behind–and for me, that's unacceptable.”

Some school districts in the state report single-digit reading proficiency rates among third graders. Robson has called this a disservice to students and has made early literacy a key focus of her campaign.

“It's not fair to that individual child,” Robson said. 

Robson brings decades of experience in education governance to her policy platform. She has served on the boards of Great Hearts Academies, the Arizona Board of Regents, Creighton University, and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Her campaign emphasizes a dual focus: continuing to support school choice and educational innovation, while closing critical achievement gaps in foundational skills like reading.

As Arizona remains at the forefront of school choice policy, education will likely remain a defining issue in upcoming elections. Robson’s platform seeks to build on the state’s successes while addressing the urgent need for improved literacy outcomes.