Todays Quality Counts report verifies what Texas leaders have been saying. Our standards are strong. --Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott
AUSTIN A national report released today confirms that Texas does a superior job in crafting its own curriculum standards which were created with input from thousands of Texans. Texas along with Alaska has refused to join an effort this year to create national standards.
Education Week today released its
annual Quality Counts report which this year focuses on the national standards debate and examines the quality of work states have done independently preparing their own standards.
Texas earned a grade of A on standards assessment and accountability and ranked sixth in the country. The state earned a grade of 100 for both its standards and school accountability systems and received a score of 86.7 for its student tests.
The report noted that 11 states said they had used the Texas standards when crafting their own standards.
Todays Quality Counts report verifies what Texas leaders have been saying. Our standards are strong. They are models for other states. The Texas standards were
crafted after receiving input from thousands of citizens while the national standards are being written without input from local educators school boards or parents" said
Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.
Texas also ranked sixth and earned a grade of B for a category called transitions and alignments which examines early-childhood education college readiness and economy and workforce.
Quality Counts 2009 found that for the first time every state and the District of Columbia have aligned kindergarten learning expectations with elementary and secondary standards. Further along the education pipeline however only three states New York Rhode Island and Texas require a college-preparatory curriculum as a condition of high school graduation.
English-Language Learners
Quality Counts 2009 includes a detailed look at how states are tackling the challenge of educating the nations 5.1 million English-language learners. Topics include: current research specialized teacher preparation screening and assessment of English-learners and ways in which state funding resources and priorities affect programs for English-learners.
School Finance
In the area of school funding this years report analyzes school spending patterns and how equitably that funding is distributed among districts within each state.
The nation as a whole received a grade of C-plus for school finance led by Rhode Island and Wyoming with grades of A-minus. At the bottom of the state rankings were Idaho Louisiana and Nevada each of which received a D.
Full Quality Counts information is available at:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/08/17execsum.h28.html .
crafted after receiving input from thousands of citizens while the national standards are being written without input from local educators school boards or parents" said Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.
Texas also ranked sixth and earned a grade of B for a category called transitions and alignments which examines early-childhood education college readiness and economy and workforce.
Quality Counts 2009 found that for the first time every state and the District of Columbia have aligned kindergarten learning expectations with elementary and secondary standards. Further along the education pipeline however only three states New York Rhode Island and Texas require a college-preparatory curriculum as a condition of high school graduation.
English-Language Learners
Quality Counts 2009 includes a detailed look at how states are tackling the challenge of educating the nations 5.1 million English-language learners. Topics include: current research specialized teacher preparation screening and assessment of English-learners and ways in which state funding resources and priorities affect programs for English-learners.
School Finance
In the area of school funding this years report analyzes school spending patterns and how equitably that funding is distributed among districts within each state.
The nation as a whole received a grade of C-plus for school finance led by Rhode Island and Wyoming with grades of A-minus. At the bottom of the state rankings were Idaho Louisiana and Nevada each of which received a D.
Full Quality Counts information is available at: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/08/17execsum.h28.html .
