Oklahoma placed in the top 10 in the nation in overall grades issued by Education Week's 2006 "Quality Counts" report card. Evaluating the nation's public education systems by state, the report is in its 8th year and is highly regarded in the industry as one of the most comprehensive reports available.
Quality Counts
Based in Washington D.C., Education Week is one of the more respected educational trade publications in the United States. "Quality Counts," first launched in January of 1997, set out to evaluate the nation's public school systems by a particular set of standards. These standards would be testable and result in an annual report to measure educational progress around the country.In its own progression, the report has become more and more detailed. This year's version breaks down a meticulous state-by-state examination of the nation's public school systems as well as offering an overall state of public education in the U.S.
The report measures and grades education systems under the following categories:
- Standards and Accountability
- Improving Teacher Quality
- School Climate
- Resource Adequacy
- Resource Equity
Oklahoma's Marks
The state of Oklahoma was ranked 7th overall in the nation in an overall grade.Scoring highest on standards and accountability with a B+, Oklahoma also had above average scores in efforts to improve teacher quality and resources.
The state's lowest score came in the category of school climate. According to the detailed Oklahoma report, "Oklahoma loses points on school safety because state law does not enforce specific penalties for incidents of school violence."
What it Means
According to the experts, a number of Southern states made fair progress from last year to this year, a very necessary improvement. Oklahoma was praised most for its progress in providing training for new and veteran teachers as well as measure of class and school size.Although the state's school climate score was its lowest, about average on a national level, it marked a slight improvement from last year's report.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Sandy Garrett remarked last year that the state "continues to improve." She will likely express similar sentiments regarding this year's report. Areas the report points to needing improvement in the state for upcoming years include:
- Reporting of teacher qualifications on school report cards
- Less reliance on multiple choice tests for assessment
- Specific penalties for school violence
- Accountability for teacher performance
Quality Counts 2006 Report - State Comparison
| Education Standard Category | Oklahoma | Texas | Arkansas | Kansas | National |
| Standards and Accountability | B+ | B- | C+ | C | B- |
| Improving Teacher Quality | B | C- | A- | B+ | C+ |
| School Climate | C+ | C | C+ | B- | C+ |
| Resources: Equity | B- | C- | B- | C+ | C |
| Overall Average Grade | B | C | B- | B- | C+ |
