The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Arizona edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers could make improvements to benefit both students and teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into six areas that include a total of 27 goals. Broadly, these goals examine the impact of state policy on the preparation, certification, licensure, compensation and effectiveness of teachers across the elementary, secondary and special education spectra. Arizona's progress toward meeting these goals is summarized. Overall, Arizona has done a good job in meeting some goals, but there is significant room for improvement in several areas. Arizona completely missed 10 goals, met a small portion of eight, partially met four, nearly met one and fully met four. The state's best performances are in Area 1, "Meeting NCLB Teacher Quality Objectives"; Area 2, "Teacher Licensure"; and Area 5, "Alternate Routes to Certification." However, there is room for improvement. Arizona has the most work to do in Area 6, "Preparation of Special Education Teachers." Arizona stands out for its policy requiring annual evaluations for all teachers. The state, however, could make improvements in its requirements for the preparation of both elementary and secondary special education teachers. Arizona policy requiring elementary teachers to complete 45 clock hours or three credit hours of research-based reading instruction during their first two years of teaching is headed in the right direction, but the state should consider revising this policy to require that candidates complete this training prior to beginning to teach. The body of the report provides a more detailed breakdown of the state's strengths and weaknesses in each area. Detailed rationale and "Food for Thought" for each area and corresponding goal are appended. (Contains 72 figures.) [Additional funding for this first edition of the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" was provided by the Achelis Foundation, Bodman Foundation, Daniel's Fund, Fisher Family Foundation, Gleason Foundation, and The Teaching Commission. This state report is part of NCTQ's State Teacher Policy Yearbook series. For the national summary, see ED506661.]