|
 Michigan
at National Average in Study of School Quality
State Board Committed to Continued Improvements
Michigan Department of Education Press Release, January
7, 2004
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LANSING –
Michigan scored at the national average in the Quality Counts
2004 study released today by Education Week, a national
education news publication.
Quality Counts is an annual study that grades individual states
in education areas such as Standards and Accountability, School
Climate, Efforts to Improve Teacher Quality, and School Funding
Resources. “This is yet another snapshot of where education is,
not only here in Michigan, but around the nation,” said Michigan
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Watkins. “We did well
in some areas and not-so-well in others. It’s very useful to get
a Report Card. It’s another indicator of where you are and what
you need to do to improve.
“Yet being average is not good enough in this fast-paced, global
society,” he added. “We will strive for continuous improvement.”
“Everyone from the Governor, Legislature, State Board of
Education to teachers, parents, and administrators is invested
in improving teaching and learning in Michigan schools,” said
State Board of Education President Kathleen N. Straus.
Even though many of the factors used in this study were
subjective and determined by Education Week to have more
significance than others in the overall picture of education
quality, Watkins welcomed the outside review.
“There are categories we didn’t get credit for in the report
that are in various stages of development now,” Watkins said.
“So we know we’re headed in a positive direction. We’ll use this
report as a checklist of our progress.”
Much of the study was based upon requirements in the federal No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the individual grades show
that every state still is in the process of implementing the
multitude of mandates in the new federal law.
Michigan’s overall grade was a C+, the same as the national
average as reported by Education Week. What brought Michigan’s
overall grade down was a D+ it received in Effort to Improve
Teacher Quality. Michigan was not given credit in 10 of the 33
categories in that section, even though the state gave evidence
that it complies with five of the 10.
“The state’s
fiscal crisis has certainly limited our ability to make needed
investments in teachers, which we know is vital to boost
achievement,” said State Board member John C. Austin, who
co-chaired the State Board’s Task Force on Ensuring Excellent
Educators with Board member Eileen Lappin Weiser.
“This report is
another wake-up call that when our budget picture improves, we
have to get serious about helping teachers succeed,” Austin
added.
The State Board of Education formed five task forces to study
key areas of education in Michigan. Those task forces included:
Ensuring Excellent Educators; Ensuring Childhood Literacy,
Elevating Educational Leadership; Integrating Communities and
Schools; and Embracing the Information Age.
Each task force’s report can be accessed on the Michigan
Department of Education website at
www.michigan.gov/mde
and clicking on the State Board of Education tab at the upper
left hand corner of the homepage.
In this year’s Quality Counts report, Michigan received a grade
of B in curriculum standards and school accountability, and a B+
for having adequate school funding resources. It received a C in
School Climate, which graded such things a parent involvement,
school choice, class size, and school safety; and a C in school
funding equity.
Watkins reiterated the state’s commitment to providing a quality
education for every child in Michigan, saying, “We cannot forget
one child. Whether that child has special needs, isn’t
proficient in English, is low- income, or a minority, every
child deserves a quality education.”
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