OverviewExecutive SummaryImmigration Transforms CommunitiesEnglish-Learners Pose Policy PuzzleELLs and the Law: Statutes, PrecedentsTeaching & ResearchResearch Hones Focus on ELLsTraining Gets BoostAssessment & AccountabilityScreening Students Proves to BeCrucialWeigh Proficiency, Assess ContentGraduation Hurdles Prove High forELLsFinancingFunding Disparities Squeeze ELLEffortsState of the StatesGrading the States: Securing Progress,Striving to ImproveWeb ExtraState Highlights Reports ($)Perspectives on a Population ($)Sponsored Online:Published: January 8, 200950-State Report CardAmid national political turnover and financial worries, states remain on the front line in thepush for school improvement.By The EditorsQuality Counts 2009 is the 13th edition of EducationWeek’s series of annual report cards tracking stateeducation policies and outcomes. Drawing heavily on datafrom the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center’sannual state policy survey, the report once again offers acomprehensive state-by-state analysis of key indicatorsof student success. With English-language learners as thespecial focus of this year’s report, it also, for the firsttime, provides 50-state information on this diverse andgrowing student subgroup, complemented by explanatoryarticles from Education Week reporters.The framework of thisyear’s report reflectsthe research center’sdecision to move theannual state survey toa modular design thatcollects data onspecific topics on anevery-other-yearbasis. This change wasmade in part to easethe burden on staterespondents, whilestill providing timelyand detailedinformation. Thisyear’s state survey didnot seek data on theteaching profession, oron standards,assessments, andaccountability. Thosetopics will be includedin the next round ofsurveys and should reappear as graded categories in Quality Counts 2010.Education Week: 50-State Report Card http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/08/17execsum.h28.html?print=11 of 3 1/15/2009 6:56 AMRead this edweek.org blog.Instead, the states this year receive individual letter grades in three areas that, together, include 35educational indicators. Those graded categories are: the Chance-for Success-Index, developed by theEPE Research Center and capturing key facets of education spanning stages from childhood toadulthood, policies related to transitions and alignment, and school funding and finance equity.Chance-for-Success IndexFirst introduced in Quality Counts 2007, the Chance-for-Success Index combines information from13 indicators intended to offer perspective on the role that education plays as a person moves fromchildhood, through the formal K-12 school system, and into the workforce. Among these indicators,upon which the states are graded, are family income, parental education and employment, high schoolgraduation rates, and adult educational attainment, employment status, and annual income.The nation as a whole earned a C-plus on this year’s Chance-for-Success Index—the same as lastyear—and this year’s report found a similar pattern of high- and low-ranking states as in the previousyear. Massachusetts topped the list for the second year running, the only state to earn an A.Clustered close behind with grades of A-minus were Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. Atthe other end of the spectrum, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico earned grades ofD-plus.Transitions and AlignmentAs in the past, this year’s report tracks and grades the states on 14 indicators assessing how well thestates smooth the transition through the educational pipeline, including early-childhood education,college readiness, and the economy and workforce. Once again, the nation overall showed no changeon transitions and alignment, earning a C for policies in this category. At the state level, Maryland,New Mexico, and West Virginia each received an A for implementing at least 12 of the monitoredpolicies.Quality Counts 2009 found that states are making considerable progress in the area of early-childhoodeducation. For the first time, every state and the District of Columbia have aligned kindergartenlearning expectations with elementary and secondary standards. Further along the education pipeline,however, only three states—New York, Rhode Island, and Texas—require a college-preparatorycurriculum as a condition of high school graduation.School FinanceIn the area of school funding, this year’s report analyzesschool spending patterns and how equitably that fundingis distributed among districts within each state. The nationas a whole received a grade of C-plus for school finance,led by Rhode Island and Wyoming with grades of A-minus.At the bottom of the state rankings were Idaho, Louisiana,and Nevada, each of which received a D.English-Language LearnersQuality Counts 2009 includes a detailed look at howstates are tackling the challenge of educating the nation’s 5.1 million English-language learners.Topics include: current research, specialized teacher preparation, screening and assessment ofEnglish-learners, and ways in which state funding resources and priorities affect programs forEnglish-learners. Among the highlights:• Nationally, the achievement gap between English-learners and all public school students isEducation Week: 50-State Report Card http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/08/17execsum.h28.html?print=12 of 3 1/15/2009 6:56 AMsignificant, whether measured by proficiency on state-devised assessments or on the NationalAssessment of Educational Progress. For example, only 9.6 percent of 4th and 8th grade ELLs scored“proficient” or higher in mathematics on NAEP in 2007, compared with 34.8 percent of students as awhole. The gap was similar in reading: 5.6 percent of ELLs scored proficient when measured as agroup, compared with a national average of 30.4 percent.• States vary widely in whether their ELL students are making progress toward English-languageproficiency. Connecticut, for example, reported that just 1.4 percent of its English-learners failed tomake headway, while Maine placed 44.9 percent of its students in that category. Nationally,one-quarter of ELLs were deemed not making progress.• Although 33 states set teacher standards for the instruction of English-learners, only three—Arizona, Florida, and New York—require that all prospective teachers show they are competent toteach such students.Vol. 28, Issue 17, Page 7Quality Counts is produced with support from the Pew