Education Week 'Quality Counts 2011' Rates U.S. Schools 'Average'

Face It America, We're Just Plain Average... At Least According To Latest National Report Card

Education Week has published Quality Counts 2011, this year's annual education report card, and its main conclusion is a wide, groaning yawn at our country's educational progress.

The overall grade for our nation was a C (76.3 percent), same grade as last year's 75.9 percent and 2009's 76.2 average.

Schools across the country were graded in the six different areas of policy and performance tracked by the report -- Chance for Success; K-12 Achievement; Standards, Assessments & Accountability; Transitions & Alignment; Teaching Profession; and School Finance.

Although education accounts for approximately one third of the $243 billion in recovery expenditures, with $80.6 billion, the report concluded that the United States has made little progress in improving the opportunities for students to succeed throughout their lives.

State-wise, Maryland topped the chart for the third year in a row, with a B-plus. Massachusetts and New York follow close behind with a B. The majority of states received grades of C-plus or lower.

Visit Education Week to read the full Quality 2011 report and find out how your state did with the interactive state report cards.

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