Education Week has released its Quality Counts “report card” on the nation’s public schools. The good news is that our Standards and Accountability once again received outstanding grades with an overall Standards, Assessment and Accountability grade of B+, ranking us just above the national average and in the top half of all states. Our standards are high and our accountability system is strong.
Overall, Mississippi’s Quality Counts grade is a C.
The bad news is that, even compared to the rest of the nation (which also experienced the Great Recession), and even accounting for geographical cost differences, Mississippi scores an F in Spending on Education. Student Achievement also scores an F. Do you see a connection here?
Resources matter. The 3-legged stool required for a strong education system has as its foundation Standards, Accountability and Resources. When we get our spending on education in line with our standards and accountability system, Mississippi children will, at long last, have the tools they need to soar.
It is critical that our state officials provide our schools the resources they need to move our state toward a brighter future. Right now, we appear to be headed in the wrong direction. With your help, we can inspire our leaders to choose success rather than poverty for our state. That will take a sincere commitment to provide our children all 3 legs of the education stool – including resources.
