The National Quality Counts study of public education policy is out today. California scored better than average but wasn't at the top of the pack. KPBS reporter Beth Ford Roth has more. The Quality Counts survey looked at each state's standards, teacher quality, testing programs, and accountability measures. California scored a B-minus overall in these areas. The average state score was a C-plus.
Virginia Edwards is the editor of Education Week, the publication that compiled the study. She says despite progress in states' education policies, the achievement gap persists nationwide. If you looked at a map at the country, and the gap between poor and non-poor students nationwide, you'd see a gap in every single state in the nation, you'd see similar patterns if you looked at eighth grade, if you looked at reading, if you looked at gaps between white and minority students.
Some of the top scoring states were Connecticut, Delaware, and South Carolina. Beth Ford Roth, KPBS news.
