Florida public schools rank No. 7 in K-12 achievement this year, which, considering their unfortunate rep, is good news with a pigs-fly twist, right?
And yet, across the state’s newspapers and TV stations, the ranking spawned a total of three short stories, two blog posts and one TV report, averaging less than seven paragraphs each. Florida’s school boards, superintendents, PTAs and teacher unions didn’t acknowledge the news either. Not even a tweet!
I wish it weren’t true, but that pattern has been in place for years. The volume is often cranked when there’s a negative story about Florida ed reforms and/or student performance. But when evidence suggests reforms may be working and/or Florida students are moving up, the amp gets switched off. That’s not healthy for the debate we’re having about our schools and kids.
So, for the record, here’s a little more detail about the good news: The No. 7 rank comes from Education Week, essentially the national newspaper of record for ed news. Its quality is top notch; its reporters, excellent. Every year, it ranks state education systems in a variety of ways.
With K-12 achievement, it looks at NAEP scores, AP results and grad rates, and considers proficiency, progress and achievement gaps. The No. 7 rank is based on a formula that incorporates all of that. But Florida looks good in the achievement subcategories, too. It ranks No. 4 in closing achievement gaps and No. 5 in improvement over time. In proficiency, it ranks No. 22, up from No. 30 last year.
The last part may sound middling, until you see how Florida is moving past states with lower rates of poor kids. In fact, no state outperforms its demographic more. To see, just put the proficiency ranks side-by-side with the percentage of kids in each state who are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunch. (See chart below.)
The Sunshine State ranks No. 43 in the latter, at 56 percent. But again, it ranks No. 22 in proficiency. It’s passing states with better academic reps, like Iowa (No. 23 in proficiency; 39 percent FRL), and closing fast on others like Utah (No. 18 in proficiency; 38 percent FRL).
One last note. It’s true Florida earned so-so grades: C overall, D+ for proficiency, C+ for progress and an A- for closing achievement gaps. But EdWeek is, thankfully, a tough grader. In overall K-12 achievement, the top states got B’s. In proficiency, only Massachusetts got an A and only four other states got B’s.
Florida’s education system has miles to go. But any way you slice it, it’s come a long way in a short time. That’s worth a headline now and then.
