Published: January 5, 2006
How Education Week Graded the States
For Quality Counts 2006 , the EPE Research Center compiled data on more than 100 indicators across five categories. We collected much of the data through an annual policy survey conducted during the summer and fall of 2005. Each state’s response was carefully verified with documentation, such as a state statute or other evidence provided by the state. We did not grant credit to states unable to document that the policies we track are in place.
In the state-by-state tables, unshaded columns are provided for additional information and are not included in the grading. We did not grade states in the student-achievement category because the presentation of the data is sufficient to gauge state performance. To arrive at a grade for each category, we assigned points to each column of data or information. For columns that contain information on state policies, we assigned letter grades based on whether the state had adopted such policies, and then granted points according to the following scale: An A was worth 100 points; a B, 85 points; a C, 75 points; a D, 65 points; and an F, 50 points. For columns that contain numerical data, such as percentages, we assigned points based on specific criteria detailed below.
After obtaining the number of points for each column, we calculated the overall grade for each state in each category, using a formula that gives greater weight to certain columns. The formula for each category yields an overall number grade for each state, from 0 to 100. We then assigned overall letter grades based on the following scale: 93 to 100 percent = A; 90 to 92 percent = A-minus; 87 to 89 percent = B-plus; 83 to 86 percent = B; 80 to 82 percent = B-minus; 77 to 79 percent = C-plus; 73 to 76 percent = C; 70 to 72 percent = C-minus; 67 to 69 percent = D-plus; 63 to 66 percent = D; 60 to 62 percent = D-minus; below 60 percent = F. Here, in greater detail, is how we graded the...
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