Nation’s Schools Get Middling Grade on Quality Counts Report Card

As a new political and policy era dawns in Washington, the status of the nation’s schools remains stable, though still earning a grade of C fromQuality Counts 2017, the 21st annual report card issued by the Education Week Research Center.

The C corresponds to a score of 74.2, which is nearly identical to the 74.4 the nation posted in 2016, when it also received a C. The steadiness of national results, notwithstanding, a handful of states saw their scores increase or decline by a full point or more.

Quality Counts grades the states and the nation on educational performance across a range of key indicators, issuing overall A-F grades based on a traditional 100-point scale.

Massachusetts (85.2) ranked first for K-12 Achievement, posting the only B. It has been the leader in the rankings for nearly a decade. New Jersey (81.0), the only other state with a grade higher than a C-plus, earned a B-minus. Mississippi (60.0) and New Mexico (61.8) received the nation’s lowest grades at D-minus.

Massachusetts takes first place among the states for the third year in a row, with a B and a score of 86.5. It’s followed by five states earning grades of B: New Jersey (85.6), Vermont (83.8), New Hampshire (83.4), Maryland (82.8), and Connecticut (82.7).

At the other end of the spectrum, Nevada is at the bottom of the list as it was in 2016, receiving a D and a score of 65.0. Mississippi (65.8) and New Mexico (66.3) also receive grades of D. Grades and scores for those three states remain relatively unchanged from last year’s outcomes. from EdWeek

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