Education Week magazine released its annual Quality Counts report, which, this year, focuses on “connecting American education from birth to adulthood.”
First, states were evaluated using a “Chance for Success Index.” The index assessed family income, reading and math scores, graduation rate, postsecondary participation, annual income, and several other categories related to educational attainment and employment.
North Carolina tied with two other states for 35th in the Chance for Success Index. This means that our children are doomed, but not as doomed in, say, Louisiana or New Mexico. As far as the region goes, North Carolina has a higher score than Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Only Virginia and Florida rank higher. In fact, the Commonwealth of Virginia is ranked number one, likely due to the fact that I lived there for four years.
Upon closer inspection, it is clear that a few of the categories in the index skewed North Carolina’s ranking. Our family income (at least 200 percent of poverty level), 4th grade NAEP reading score, high school graduation rate, and annual income (above the national median) all received low marks. Didn’t anyone tell them that our graduation rate is nearly 100 percent?
The report also used NAEP data, graduation rates, and AP results to calculate a “K-12 Achievement Score.” North Carolina tied with three other states for 25th. In the region, only Virginia ranked higher, likely due to the fact that my wife and I taught in the Virginia public schools.
So there you have it. After taking the time to read this mind-numbing post, I would like to congratulate you for getting this far. I would have stopped reading by the second paragraph.
