BY ELYSSE JAMES
California lags behind most of the U.S. for student performance in math and reading, sinking the state’s scores in a new national report ranking quality of education. Education Week Research Center’s Quality Counts report places California lower than the nation in K-12 achievement, chance for success and school finance — three updated measures out of six included in the review. California scored a D+ in both K-12 achievement and school finance and a C- in chance for success. The nation as a whole received a C+ on chance for success, a C- on K-12 achievement and its best score, a C, on school finance. The K-12 achievement index looks at public school improvement over time, the state’s existing level of success and student performance on Advanced Placement exams and the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which gave a sampling of test scores from students in each state to provide a snapshot of student knowledge. California ranked 33rd in the nation for K-12 achievement. “One of the striking patterns that emerges for California is that the state fares poorly on measures related to current reading and math performance,” said Sterling Lloyd, senior research associate with the Education Week Research Center. “Those results are cause for concern given that reading and math skills are critical for students seeking to succeed in post-secondary education or the workforce.” To garner information for the chance for success score, the report looked into family life, including parent education, income and employment, and adult education, income and employment. Much of the data came from the 2012 U.S. Census Bureau reports. California struggles in early childhood education, Lloyd said, landing near the bottom on all early childhood measures. “It’s time for us to look seriously as a state for ways to help kids before they enter grade K, especially those kids who are struggling with a language,” Orange County Superintendent Al Mijares said. California ranks last in the nation for having the lowest number of parents who are fluent English speakers, Lloyd said. California ranked 42nd in the nation for chance for success. In school finance, the Education Week Research Center examined school spending and distribution of funding across the state. The federal data used in the report is from 2011, so the scores do not include the boost in funding that schools are receiving under California’s Local Control Funding Formula, which works to return school funding to 2007-08 levels. The report found that poverty gaps have widened in the United States since the last time K-12 achievement was scored in 2012. California ranked 37th in the nation. “Reports like this serve as the impetus for us to be vigilant and continue to work harder and smarter in educating our students,” Mijares said. “The country’s economy depends on it. The nation’s strength depends on it.” As a nation, the United States has held steady in its scores, with slight improvements over time. The report was released Thursday by the Education Week Research Center. It included measures in three other areas assessed in previous years: the teaching profession, C+; transitions and alignment, B-; and standards, assessments and accountability, A.THE GRADES
EDUCATION WEEK ranked the states and the nation in three new categories for 2014. Here's how California and the United States fared: CHANCE FOR SUCCESS • California: C-, ranked 42nd in the nation • United States: C+ K-12 ACHIEVEMENT • California: D+, 33rd • United States: C- SCHOOL FINANCE ANALYSIS • California: D+, 37th • United States: C Source: Education Week's Quality Counts report