Maryland schools rank No. 1 in nation for third year in a row

Ed Week gives state a B+ and gives high marks to policies, preparation of youngest students and achievement

January 10, 2011|

By Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun

For the third year in a row, Maryland's public schools have been ranked No. 1 in the nation by a leading education newspaper, which gives the state high marks for its policies, the preparation of its youngest children and overall achievement.

"What makes Maryland stand out is that it is on the one hand a strong achiever and has shown improvement, but it is also a real leader in terms of policy," said Christopher Swanson, vice president of editorial projects in education at Education Week, which produced the rankings. He said some states that have high student achievement have coasted, but Maryland has kept the pressure on schools to improve.

The rankings, which Gov. Martin O'Malley and other state leaders mentioned frequently in campaign speeches, give the state a B+ while the average grade across the nation was a C. New York and Massachusetts both ranked just below Maryland with a B average, while South Dakota, Nebraska and the District of Columbia had grades of D+.

Maryland Public Schools Ranked #1!

Education Week Releases "Quality Counts" State Education Rankings.

The St. Petersburg Times (1/7) reports, "Maryland ranks No. 1 among states in education quality, according to the latest annual report card from the highly regarded Education Week newspaper." Education Week considered "six broad categories -- including student achievement, standards and accountability, and funding -- and dozens of specific indicators" in determining the rankings." Overall, the state "earned a B this year, up slightly from last year." The St. Petersburg Times also noted that Mississippi, Idaho and Nevada ranked lowest on Education Week's report card, and Massachusetts and New York ranked second and third, respectively.

The Baltimore Sun (1/7, Bowie) adds, "Maryland, ranked third last year, edged out Massachusetts by one-tenth of one percent" to earn the top spot on Education Week's "Quality Counts" state education rankings this year. Both states were given a B grade overall, but the national average was a C. Maryland scored well on the standards for early childhood education and preparing students for college."