For the fourth year running, Maryland’s public schools have been ranked number one in the nation by Education Week. In “2012 Quality Counts,” the annual report that ranks state public school systems, Maryland received an overall grade of B+ (raw score: 87.8). The national average grade was a C, with a raw score of 76.5. Filling out the top ten are:
2. Massachusetts (B, 84.2)
3. New York (B, 83.9)
4. Virginia (B, 82.6)
5. Arkansas (B-, 81.6)
6. New Jersey (B-, 80.5)
7. Georgia (B-, 79.7)
8. Vermont (B-, 79.6)
9. West Virginia (B-, 79.5)
10. Ohio (C+, 79.5)
States are graded on five areas:
–The Chance for Success Index, which takes into account 13 indicators that are believed to capture the role of education in promoting beneficial outcomes at each of three stages in a person’s life (early childhood, K-12 years, and adult education/workforce skills).
—K-12 Achievement Index, evaluates how well a state’s students perform compared with those in the top-ranked state on 18 criteria, taking into account current performance, improvement, and equity.
—Standards, Assessments & Accountability: evaluates a state’s policies with regard to curriculum standards, assessment rigor and practices, and school accountability.
—The Teaching Profession: Consists of 44 indicators that capture three key aspects of state policy—accountability for teacher quality, incentives and allocation, and efforts to build and support the capacity of the teacher workforce.
—School Finance: States are graded on 8 indicators related to school spending patterns and equity between schools/districts.
To read the entire 2012 Quality Counts report, please visit http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2012/01/12/index.html?intc=EW-QC12-FL1
