Jan 27 - American Legislative Exchange Council Releases 17th Report Card on American Education
CF Staff Report
Jan 27, 2012 – The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) released its 17th Report Card on American Education: Ranking State K-12 Performance, Progress, and Reform this week. ALEC is a non-profit, nonpartisan association of over 2,000 state legislators that works to promote principles of free markets, limited government and federalism throughout the states.The comprehensive report grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to data from national test scores, state education policy, charter school regulation, and other benchmarks of quality. The report also discusses what resources are being wasted, what students are being left behind, and what administrators, parents, and teachers can do make a difference in education. This year, Massachusetts beat out all other states while West Virginia placed last. States were rank states based on two factors. The first is student performance and their progress on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams. Georgia was not ranked because it did not have 95% of enrolled students take the test.
Top Five Bottom Five
1. Massachusetts 47. Missouri
2. Vermont 48. Mississippi
3. New Jersey 49. Louisiana
4. Colorado 50. South Carolina
5. Pennsylvania 51. West Virginia
Georgia violated the NAEP reading exam compliance requirements that 95% of students enrolled in public schools take the exam. The NAEP included new inclusion standards for special education and English Language Learner students, and Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas “violated those standards for the 2011 NAEP reading exam,” according to ALEC. The second metric ranked states from A to F based on education reform policies including academic standards, school choice programs, charter schools, online learning, and that state's ability to hire good teachers and fire bad ones. In this category, “Missouri is the clear leader,” according to the group. ALEC gives Georgia a “B” grade, as one of the top states embracing reform including embracing charter schools:
Highest Scoring Reform States Lowest Scoring Reform States
"A-" Missouri "D+" Alabama
"B" Colorado "D+" Nebraska
"B" Indiana "D+" North Dakota
"B" Ohio "D+" Vermont
"B" District of Columbia "D+" West Virginia
"B" Georgia
"B" California
"B" New Mexico
"B" Arizona
"B" Utah
"B" Oklahoma
But Georgia ranks very low in the U.S. on the training of teachers, and performance management of its teaching staff. "ALEC's Report Card on American Education is one of the premier publications on state education policy," according to ALEC National Chairman Dave Frizzell (R-IN).
ALEC's report card uses empirical data to establish the case for more school choice, empowering parents to have a greater impact on their children's education, and holding teachers accountable. To view the Report Card on American Education and a full list of ALEC's reports, visit www.alec.org/reportcard.
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