Egypt has long promised quality basic education. Nevertheless, international and national assessments show poor reading skills. Community schools (CS) are a component of Egypt's Education for All strategy. CS were intended to offer quality education to children who otherwise would have no chance to complete primary school. Previous studies report that academic abilities of Egyptian CS students exceed those of students in mainstream government primary schools. However, over time the education environment in Egypt has changed and the CS have changed with it. The current role and quality of CS education have been questioned. We examine core Arabic language skills of community and mainstream school students in two Upper-Egyptian villages. Results for students in mainstream schools are poor; results for CS students are significantly worse. We examine domains of Arabic language learning to understand specific problem areas.