[deckardc]

Ok, those of us who have students in Florida public schools know how dismal some of those schools are. However, the state has apparently decided to focus on improving the education system. According to the latest edition of Education State Rankings, Florida is now #29 of 50.

Here are Florida's rankings for the past few school years:

06-07: 29th
05-06: 36th
04-05: 39th
03-04: 40th
02-03: 47th
01-02: 48th

The top 10 this year are:

1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. Maine
6. Virginia
7. Montana
8. Wisconsin
9. Iowa
10. Pennsylvania

The worst 10 are:

41. Georgia
42. Hawaii
43. New Mexico
44. Louisiana
45. Alabama
46. Alaska
47. California
48. Mississippi
49. Nevada
50. Arizona

[121804]

Where did you get this info? I am curious to see how it is tallied, etc & factors that are used.

Interesting info. Again, the top schools are not surprising nor are the bottom 10.

[backtofla]

that's good news. i remember fla being like 39th at one point.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by deckardc

Ok, those of us who have students in Florida public schools know how dismal some of those schools are. However, the state has apparently decided to focus on improving the education system. According to the latest edition of Education State Rankings, Florida is now #29 of 50.

Here are Florida's rankings for the past few school years:

06-07: 29th
05-06: 36th
04-05: 39th
03-04: 40th
02-03: 47th
01-02: 48th

The top 10 this year are:

1. Vermont
2. Massachusetts
3. Connecticut
4. New Jersey
5. Maine
6. Virginia
7. Montana
8. Wisconsin
9. Iowa
10. Pennsylvania

The worst 10 are:

41. Georgia
42. Hawaii
43. New Mexico
44. Louisiana
45. Alabama
46. Alaska
47. California
48. Mississippi
49. Nevada
50. Arizona

A man goes to the doctor and is told he has a serious condition. He asks,
"How much is this going to cost"? The doctor says "Well, the surgery will be around $25,000". man,-- "Wow, that is a lot". doctor-- "Or, for ten bucks I could touch up the xray".

[backtofla]

so macguy says it is being doctored up

[deckardc]

As I said in my first post, the information comes from the publication "Education State Rankings". It is a publication used by state education departments, including Florida's, and the National Education Association. Since they are a survey group that has nothing to do with the state of FL, I doubt it's doctored.
Morgan Quitno Press
NEA: National Education Association

Apparently they use the following 21 factors to determine the standings for the year:

• Public Elementary and Secondary School Revenue per $1,000 Personal Income (Table 56) +
• Percent of Public Elementary and Secondary School Current Expenditures used for Instruction (Table 134) +
• Percent of Population Graduated from High School (Table 171) +
• Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate for Public High Schools (Table 174) +
• Percent of Public School Fourth Graders Proficient or Better in Reading (Table 203) +
• Percent of Public School Eighth Graders Proficient or Better in Reading (Table 211) +
• Percent of Public School Fourth Graders Proficient or Better in Writing (Table 219) +
• Percent of Public School Eighth Graders Proficient or Better in Writing (Table 227) +
• Percent of Public School Fourth Graders Proficient or Better in Mathematics (Table 235) +
• Percent of Public School Eighth Graders Proficient or Better in Mathematics (Table 243) +
• Average Teacher Salary as a Percent of Average Annual Pay of All Workers (Table 364) +

• Average Daily Attendance as a Percent of Fall Enrollment in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools (Table 398) +
• Percent of School-Age Population in Public Schools (Table 389) +
• High School Drop Out Rate (Table 191) -
• Special Education Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Table 339) -
• Percent of Public Elementary and Secondary School Staff Who are School District Administrators (Table 380) -
• Average Class Size in Public Elementary Schools (Table 425) -
• Average Class Size in Public Secondary Schools (Table 426) -
• Median Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Public Primary Schools (Table 429) -
• Median Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Public Middle Schools (Table 432) -
• Median Pupil-Teacher Ratio in Public High Schools (Table 435) -