Illinois: Tied with Kansas and North Dakota
By Timmy Watson in News on Jan 6, 2007 6:37PM
Yesterday we had an article on so-called "gifties" who lost what was undoubtedly a rigged t-shirt contest in 8th grade. Their response was an oh-so-clever statement on the injustice of losing a t-shirt contest, they made t-shirts. We may have found the answer to what happened to this group of "gifties" over the next four years. The Quality Counts 2007 study by Education Week indicates the weakness in our education system is, in large part, due to a lack of connection from one level of grade school to the next. We aren't quite sure why a study is needed to identify this, it is pretty common knowledge that every kid everywhere is scared shitless when they enter the 6th and 9th grades. But, the study shows us a lot of valuable data about our own state, which I must say is ranked a not so shabby 12th.
That is a joke, of course, who the hell wants to be ranked 12th? Coming in at number 1 is Virginia, while New Mexico is bringing up the rear. As the title of the article indicates, Illinois is tied with Kansas and North Dakota. The study rated academic performance across the country, the rankings were based on a point system, using a range of -2 to 2 for each category. Each state started at 0 and was given 1 point for being above the average and 2 for being well above average. The inverse was used to dole out negative points.
The country is currently moving towards the mantra that the earlier the education, the better, and while this is true, education in later years is continuing to suffer. Most states have a strict set of standards they follow when evaluating children as they go through elementary school, but the study shows that as time goes on states lose the grasp on exactly what they are looking for and what they are preparing the students for. In contrast to the increasing standards for early learning, the executive summary states,
"...while many states report that they are working to better align high school graduation requirements with college- and workforce-readiness standards, many of those efforts have yet to reach fruition.
Eighteen states and the District have a distinct definition of workforce readiness. Only 11 state departments of education report that their states have adopted a formal definition of college readiness."
The summary goes on to explain that even those states with a formal definition include only a strict set of courses that should be taken, as opposed to courses targeted specifically to students talents and/or interests.
In addition, the study also suggests that those students in low-income categories and minorities are improving, but there is still a huge gap in the level of education in later years. For more information, visit the research site. Education Week plans on holding meetings throughout the year discussing the results and issuing white papers.