On Sat, 12 Jan 2013 02:03:49 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:52:45 -0500, ESAD wrote:

Maryland schools ranked No. 1 in nation, Virginia schools ranked 4th

Thursday - 1/10/2013, 2:11pm ET

WASHINGTON - For the fifth year in a row, Maryland public schools have
been ranked No. 1 in the nation by Education Week.

The year the Quality Counts review by Education Week gave Maryland an
overall grade of a B-plus. Maryland has continued to build upon its
success since gaining the top slot in the nation in 2009.

"Maryland public schools are so fortunate to have bipartisan support
throughout the state," State Superintendent Lillian Lowery said in a
news release.

"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."

Massachusetts came in second with a B, followed closely by New York.

South Dakota, Nevada, and Idaho came in at the bottom of list.

State and National Grades Issued for Education Performance

http://tinyurl.com/b4qwm9b

Must be a heluva curve if they can average in the Baltimore and PG
schools in and still get a good number out.
I agree Montgomery was good when I lived there. PG, not so much.
My niece's kid was home schooled IN the PG system. She was enrolled
but only went in one day a week and did the rest from home.
(Friendly HIgh School late 70-80s)
They were too crowded for all the kids to be there at once so they
sent the smart kids home and spent their time on the dumb ones.
I suppose it wasn't a horrible idea from an "equal opportunity" aspect
but it did short change the smart kids.

Not to put down Maryland, but I was wondering the same damn thing. So, I went to the report to see
how it was put together. Turns out to have very little to do with student achievement, and a lot to
do with social issues. It also seems as though the teachers and administrators provided much of the
input on their own schools, subjective apparently.

"To complement Education Week's reporting, the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center
conducted an online survey of registered users of the Education Week website. More than 1,300
school-based personnel, responded to questions on a range of issues involving school climate,
safety, and discipline.

The results of the survey offer insight into the views of teachers, instructional specialists,
principals, and other building-level administrators who have valuable, first-hand experience with
efforts to craft a safe, supportive school environment."

Much more at:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/01/10/16execsum.h32.html?intc=EW-QC13-LFTNAV

or: http://tinyurl.com/a8f4xjr

Of course, the White House and this administration get pats on the back:

"Policymakers have begun responding to such concerns in recent years by focusing on aspects of
students' well-being beyond simply their academic health. A number of federal initiatives reflect
the shift. They include a set of school climate grants awarded to 11 states (now in their third and
final year), White House-led programs on bullying awareness and prevention, and a partnership among
federal agencies designed to change the way schools discipline students."

Don't suppose there was any behind the scenes politikin' going on, do you?

--

**Those who think they can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government
take care of them better take a closer look at the American Indian.**