The American educational system has focused on better tracking of achievement during the last 15 years. The ultimate goal is holding accountable those school systems that lag behind their counterparts. At the same time, policy makers have wanted to spotlight the best practices of those districts where students perform better than expectations.
Since 1994, Pew has supported Quality Counts, an annual report card grading all 50 states on K-12 educational standards and accountability as well as efforts to improve teacher quality, school climate and resource equity. In 2006, it began to partner with the Pew Center on the States.
The Quality Counts “Chance-for-Success Index,” a feature that launched in 2007, tracks state efforts to connect education from prekindergarten through postsecondary education and training. The 13 indicators that make up this new index capture key performance or attainment outcomes at various stages in a person’s lifetime or are correlated with later success.
To help provide a picture of K-12 performance across states, Quality Counts also includes a “State Achievement Index” that ranks each state based on its students whose achievements are significantly above or below the national average, and its students who are making progress on 15 indicators. Quality Counts is produced by Editorial Projects in Education, a nonprofit news organization, and published in Education Week magazine. Education Week offers limited free access to Quality Counts at www.edweek.org; unlimited access is available with a print or online subscription.
Jan 08, 2009 - Amid national political turnover and financial worries, states remain on the front line in the push for school improvement.
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Jan 09, 2008 - Special Analysis Finds That Teachers Earn Significantly Less Than Those in Comparable Professions; Report Cards and Highlights Reports Issued for all 50 States and D.C.
Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)
Jan 03, 2007 - Quality Counts 2007 examines the chances of educational success children will experience throughout life.
In support of Quality Counts, the widely-read annual assessment of state education which provides solid, objective data on K-12 reform efforts, helping the public and policy makers understand their state’s level of success, both in absolute terms and in comparison with other states.
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