StudentsFirst.com has published its 2014
annual report card regarding education policies at the state level. New York ranked 28 out of the 50 states and received an overall grade of D, or a GPA of 1.29. Not exactly college-bound scores.
New York also received a D+ at elevating the teaching profession, F at empowering parents, and a C+ for efficient spending of education dollars.
The report is the work of education reformer Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization and basically serves to promote the ideas that Rhee says are needed to upgrade education in US public schools. Rhee is extremely anti-union and vigorously opposes teacher tenure, seniority, and labor agreements. She advocates teacher evaluations linked to student test scores and merit pay for teachers.
The policies that Rhee supports are also pro-business, aimed at creating a work force that she says is better prepared for global competition.
But does the StudentsFirst report card accurately reflect how well some states are in education? Do Rhee's policies work?
Diane Ravitch
calls Rhee’s report card ludicrous because states like Massachusetts are clearly leading the nation in student performance, but not highly rated according to StudentsFirst.
And Washington DC, for example, though making strides according StudentsFirst, continues to struggle.