Maryland schools were ranked the best in the nation for the fifth year in a row, according to a study released by Education Week.
"Maryland public schools are so fortunate to have bipartisan support throughout the State," State Superintendent Lillian Lowery said in a statement. "Our schools have the benefit of strong support from the Governor, other elected officials, educators, parents, business leaders, and the public at large. This ranking could not be achieved without the support of every partner, and we won’t be able to continue our improvement without that broad coalition."
The state received an 87.5, B+ grade in the publication's analysis. Massachusetts trailed by 3.4 points to secure a second place ranking.
At the other end of the spectrum, the report lists South Dakota as the lowest performing state at 69.3, D+.
A majority of the states—38 to be exact—fell along the C range. The nationwide average was 76.9, C+, which is a half point up from the 2012 average of C.
Factors considered in the rankings include indicators of student achievement and teacher quality, disciplinary policies, how students' needs to cope with academic and personal pressures are being met and the role of parents and community groups.
"The conditions for success in schools include not just having high-quality teachers, but ensuring that they are working in schools designed for success. In schools designed for success, there's a growing interest in ensuring that school climate supports students," said Deborah Delisle, the U.S. Department of Education's assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, in a statement in the report.
This compares to $65B in Canada, $86B in Russia, $40B in Australia, $61B in South Korea... and so on. Only Britain, France, Japan and Germany spend over $100B per year on Education, and none of them even come close to the $200B mark. The USC (Rossier) survey identifies the US as the highest spender per student at over $7700 per year. Despite this, US students' Math and Science scores manage only 10th and 9th out of the top 12 ($ spent per pupil) nations, respectively. Do the Math before you assert more "BS". Meanwhile, the real issue is our price/performance ratio; whether that is a MD-specific or a US national statistic matters little. Either way, it augurs poorly for the future. I maintain that throwing additional funds at the problem... fixes nothing.
http://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/
From the study, the per capita (per person) spending for the top 4 is: US 7,743 United Kingdom 5,834 Austraila 5,766 Canada 5,749 In the top four the US spends about about 33% more than the other top spenders. Most misleading in the statistics you quote I believe is the study measure the costs of edcuating "school-aged child" in the study are children aged 6-23. Thus college costs are included in the analysis. The cost per child will increase if a nation has more people attending college. That said, the performance of our students in the areas measured is not good enough.
Earlier in the week, Michelle Rhee’s advocacy organization, Students First, released a study of its own that assessed states based on their education policies, not the outcome of those policies. In this assessment, Louisiana topped the list followed by Florida. Maryland earned a D+, which ranked it at 17. Virginia ranked 38 and D.C. outperformed the two states with a C+ and a fourth place ranking." You're trying to compare apples and shovels, just for the sake of fulfilling your irrational need to constantly denigrate this state. It's pathetic and sad.
(Ha, I don't know. Just funnin'.)
What is the solution, Dr. M. ? Obviously, mass incarceration of Black men hasn't worked. Welfare to work hasn't worked. Even your people moving to the counties hasn't worked?
I think your negativity all starts with being a cheapskate and having few friends who are different from you: different religious persuasions, different racial group, different socioeconomic class, different professional orientation, different hobbies. When is the last time you bought somebody a beer? Broke a routine of daily living?
http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/outliers_excerpt3.html
No one wants to talk about race, class, plutocrats and elitism. Damn, I am not even sure that a bright, activist and highly informed fellow like you wants to talk about it.
Board of Trustees Editorial Projects in Education Jerry D. Weast Jerry D. Weast is a 35-year veteran of education leadership. Dr. Weast led Montgomery County Public Schools—16th largest school district in the nation—to achieve both the highest graduation rate among the nation’s largest school districts for four consecutive years and the highest academic performance ever in MCPS at a time when the non-English-speaking student population more than doubled and enrollment tipped toward low socioeconomic demographics. Dr. Weast’s approaches to early childhood education, differentiation of resources, professional growth systems, predictive analytics, and relationship strategies for both unions and business involvement are the subjects of numerous Harvard Business School case studies, and of the book Leading for Equity (Harvard Education Press, 2009). Montgomery County Public Schools was a 2010 winner of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for management excellence and a 2010 finalist for the Broad Prize in Urban Education. Dr. Weast’s leadership is analyzed in the book Team Turnarounds: A Playbook for Transforming Underperforming Teams (Frontiera and Leidl, 2012); and the success Montgomery County Public Schools achieved during Dr. Weast’s tenure is held as a model in the book Renewal: Remaking America’s Schools for the 21st Century (Kwalwasser, 2012)...