A description of the State of Arizona and its educational system is presented as a working paper in a final report by the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. Facts about the state include the following: indications are that the present growth in Arizona will continue for at least a decade more; growth has been handled by expanding the city limits; suburban growth in Phoenix and Tucson has been achieved without destroying the core city; the Arizona population is not very old, and birth rates in the state are high, especially for Hispanics and Indians; minorities in Arizona have not developed a substantial middle class; the Arizona economy is nicely diversified; and Arizona's minority populations are now 40% of the small children in Arizona. General conclusions are as follows: as school populations increase during the next decade, class sizes must not increase, and funding per student must not decline; higher education needs to be articulated with the public schools; youth poverty will increase, and the number of young people involved in Headstart-like programs may decline as a percentage of those eligible; the state needs to stimulate more small business starts on the part of its current citizens, especially minorities; and poverty levels in downtown Phoenix are increasing rapidly, and jobs are moving to the suburbs. Contains 20 references. (SM)