Quality Counts 2018: Nation Earns C on Annual Report Card for Fourth Year in a Row

Massachusetts Takes Top Spot on ‘Grading the States’ Report Card 

Education Week’ s annual Quality Counts assessment of the nation’s educational system takes on a new look and approach this year, with three in - depth reports being rolled out over the course of the year. As it has for more than two decades, Quality Counts will continue to rank the nation and the states, and delve into student achievement, K - 12 funding, and educational factors that contribute to an individual’s prospects from cradle to career. This new format, however, will deliver tightly focused insight into the data behind the annual grading, combined with multiple opportunities for policymakers, educators, and the public to engage with the findings and apply them to improving America’s schools. 

Released today, the first of these installments — Grading the States: Quality Counts2018 — features national and state - by - state grades, data , and analysis from the Education Week Research Center . The report also includes companion articles by Education Week reporters offering context about state and national performance. 

The data and analysis in the follow - up installments will investigat e school spending and finance (to be released in June ) and K - 12 achievement and Education Week’s Chance - for - Success Index (September ). 

GRADING THE STATES 

The centerpiece of Quality Counts remains its annual report card on the state of education for the nation and for each of the states. As in the past, this latest edition of Quality Counts provides overall summative grades , as well as scores in each of the three categories that make up the report’s grading rubric: K - 12 Achievement, Chance for Success, and School Finance. The nation as a whole receives a grade of C on the 2018 annual report card with a score of 74.5 out of a possible 100, a slight uptick that continues several years of essentially fl at performance. 

Massachusetts finished first in the overall ranking, with the only B plus and a score of 86.8. It is followed closely by four states earning B grades: New Jersey (85.9), Vermont (84.1), New Hampshire (83.7) and Connecticut (83.0). 

With a grade of D, Nevada received the nation’s lowest score (65.0); New Mexico also earns a D (66.2). Mississippi improved its ranking slightly to a D plus, with a score of 66.8. 

In the school finance category, the nation ’s grade is a C for 2018. There, Wyoming earns the only A - minus and seizes the top spot, which it has occupied for most of the past decade. Idaho ranks last on school finance with a D - minus. With a C - minus for the U.S. as a whole, the nation has its weakest showing on the K - 12 Achievement Index, which was last updated in 2016. 

In a package of articles  accompanying the national and state - by - state grades,  Education Week explores what makes some of the highest - performing states so successful,  how some chronically  challenged states are facing the hurdles holding them back, and  key lessons for policymakers elsewhere.  The report also highlights factors  that  experts and advocates see as systemic barriers to improvement  nationally.   

Find national and state grades, and reporting on  the stories behind the data :  www.edweek.org/go/qc18

Interactive Map and Report Card — Explore the state of the states and the nation, and delve into  detailed grades in critical areas of educational performance : www.edweek.org/go/qc18map

State  and National Highlights Reports — These online - onl y reports assess each state’s  performance on key indicators : www.edweek.org/go/qc18shr