So, it appears Tom Horne may be losing it. After the aforeblogged report showing Arizonans are stupid was released, Horne told Howie Fischer of Capitol Media Services that the company that released the report, Morgan Quitno Press, was “stupid.” He added: “I would estimate they have no employee with an IQ over 90.”
Nice.
This article appears in Oct 12-18, 2006.
Well, as Forest Gump says, “Stupid is as stupid does.”
One of those factors is the percentage of fourth graders who are ranked at least proficient in reading. Morgan said Arizona is 43rd in the nation; for eighth graders the state is 42nd.
Now… is that reading in English, or reading in both English language and ESL classes? If one tosses a student into an English language course who was brought up only reading Spanish, of course they are going to suffer — but a black-and-white test like this is not going to account for it.
I’m also wondering if Arizona’s massive growth in the past 20 years is speeding past the state’s ability to adapt to things. A growing state won’t just need more schools, but other infrastructure as well. A black-and-white test like this (from what I understand) is not going to take that into account, either.
Tucson and Pima County have grown dramatically since the Eighties.