Posted on 01/14/2014 6:47:29 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Some surprises on that last, Maryland, Michigan I’d’ve guessed they be in opposite places. And YAY New Jersey. My kid got a very good education in the Bayonne Public Schools.
It all depends on how they’re scored.
School choice in Michigan is going strong with charter schools and other alternatives booming.
I agree.
Are they figuring preschool enrollment, and per student expenditure into the rank as it seems? That doesn’t make much sense...
public schools are all “worst”
Interesting that the article didn't address the effect of intact families on the education success of children. I noticed race wasn't mentioned either.
Oldplayer
AND . . . if a state expended ONLY 10K per year on educating the little darlings, that means that for a classroom of 20 3rd-graders, I’d have a cool $200,000 to spend a year. If I paid the teacher 50K, spent 5K on heating, and 5K on erasers and chalk, I’d have $140K still available to burn through.
Heck give me $200,000 a year and see if I can’t get twenty kids to read at grade level, add two column numbers and scribble.
Surely I could make it on that.
Oldplayer
> For years, American students have consistently ranked poorly compared to most developed nations.
Perhaps racial quotas and race-norming has something to do with it.
Thanks SeekAndFind.
Bah...bad students make bad schools. Sorry to be the fly in the ointment, but in most cases the facts show that private schools do little for dullard students. All the conservative talk about “good” schools solving the education problem is all booshwah. If a kid wants to learn and his family his behind him or her, that student will learn. If the the kid hates school and has parents or parent who don’t give a d..., that kid won’t learn. Too much is made of schools in the education equation. The students themselves and their parents are far more important than what school they go to.
I agree and take it a step further: I would argue that "the school" IS the parents and students themselves.
Obviously money isn't the biggest factor, as the per-pupil expenditures are all over the place for both best & worst. And based on the states shown, I'd be willing to bet that the racial makeup and the single-mother household makeup is HUGE among those ranked lowest.
We really need a “Like” button around here...
Where’s CA? Thought it be in the bottom 10.
And Wash DC?
One of the more insightful discussions of education ratings is from the IowaHawk archives from 2011. Link is:
http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2011/03/page/7/
So? My state, Georgia, usually ranks right down there at the bottom but their rank was artificially inflated due to the massive cheating scandal in the Atlanta public school system. It will regain its miserable rating next time they do the survey. Yet in spite of that they always field a great bunch of local students for Georgia Tech and Emory, 2 schools that are among the nation's best. Those kids excel in spite of the schools, not because of them. I suspect your situation is similar and I noticed you mentioned factors other than a great school system that contributed to their success.
“I noticed you mentioned factors other than a great school system that contributed to their success.”
Exactly! The education industry is basically bunk.
Oldplayer
This article lists South Dakota as the 8th worst.
However is you look at graduation rates from here:
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/high-school-graduation-rates-by-state.html
you find that South Dakota ranks 12th BEST for overall graduation rate:
High School Graduation Rates by State
| State | All Students | Children with Disabilities | Limited English Proficient | Economically disadvantaged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 88% | 70% | 70% | 78% |
| Vermont | 87% | 69% | 82% | 77% |
| Wisconsin | 87% | 67% | 66% | 74% |
| Texas | 86% | 77% | 58% | 84% |
| Tennessee | 86% | 67% | 71% | 80% |
| Indiana | 86% | 65% | 73% | 79% |
| Nebraska | 86% | 70% | 52% | 78% |
| North Dakota | 86% | 67% | 61% | 76% |
| New Hampshire | 86% | 69% | 73% | 72% |
| Illinois | 84% | 66% | 68% | 75% |
| Maine | 84% | 66% | 78% | 73% |
| South Dakota | 83% | 84% | 82% | 86% |
As other Freepers have noted, this article places way too much emphasis on money spent and programs enacted. If you look at results, South Dakota is either the 12th Best or the Best, depending on category. A long way from 8th Worst as mentioned in the article.
(Full Disclosure: I have never been to South Dakota and, to my knowledge, do not know anyone from there, let alone anyone involved in teaching.)
Yes, and if you would look at the average SAT scores by state you would find that your kids were not that unusual for OK. OK has horrible schools with high average SAT scores...hmmmm.
Florida’s schools are better than Connecticut? Maybe in football, but Florida’s schools sucks.
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