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I've gone though public schools and helped my kids through public schools and watched the public schools debate for a few decades. Some things that I'm convinced of are;
1. Spending more does not improve results unless a school doesn't have enough funds for basic materials and facilities.
This is a big problem now, though, and it's only being made worse through more cuts. Using textbooks from 1980 is not acceptable. Underperforming schools in poorer areas usually have massive problems with having decent technology and schoolbooks.
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2. Parental involvement has more impact than all other factors combined.
It's 50% home, 50% school. If you have great parents but a terrible school, you are going to be placed at an equal, albeit slightly different disadvantage than if you have a great school, but terrible parents.
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3. Demographics is a big factor in determining outcomes.
Which is why we need to throw out the idea of having schools funded by their local districts' property and/or income taxes.
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4. A kid can get a very good education in any state, and millions of kids do this every year.
Ok? What's your point? Does that mean we should just ignore the underperforming schools since there are at least a few kids lucky enough to get a decent education?
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5. You cannot judge a state school system by averages for the entire school population.
Have you ever met someone who went to school in Arizona? I'm being serious. As much as Florida's school system is terrible, when I was a graduate assistant for a class in Arizona, I was shocked at the terrible homework and test essays that were handed in. These were kids who were accepted into a major research university, and their writing/critical thinking skills were where we were in early middle school, on average. Many were worse still.
The first teacher a child has is his/her parent(s). The better prepared a child is before entering school is directly proportional to that child's success in school. We try to teach our progeny to excell in academics, and compete for success.
Personal responsibilty begins at home. The reason most kids fail is they are totally unprepared, in basic skills, before they start school. It is hard to learn how to add if you don't know the difference between 1 and 2.
It's still Texas. And everyone would still rather be in CA. The insecurities of someTX posters is so weird...it's always a competition and they have to convince themselves they are winning.
And Californians have to keep saying that "it's still Texas" to convince themselves that they're superior. In spite of the fact that CA is slowing circling the drain.
I've lived both places. Right now, Texas is FAR superior.
There are no A's (overall state grade) on that list.
Pathetic.
Where can I find the rankings for 20 years ago?
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Education ranking : Texas 14th, ahead California
