States From Our Research Center

Quality Counts 2016 State and National Highlights Reports

The Quality Counts 2016 Highlights Reports capture all of the data you need to assess your state’s performance in key areas. The information is presented in a series of charts and graphs, and includes comparisons to national averages. You won’t want to miss your state’s data, so download your copy now:

State Highlights Reports are available for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and compare individual state data to national data. The National Highlights Report includes the national average and data for the top and bottom states.

Your Report Includes

State Summative Grades

Chance-for-Success Index (2016)

K-12 Achievement (2016)

School Finance (2016)

Special for Quality Counts 2016

NAEP Achievement Analysis (2016)

  • Combined proficiency rate in 4th and 8th grade reading and math
  • Achievement gains over time
  • Preschool poverty gap and poverty-gap changes

You may also like reports from previous years:

About These Reports

The 20th annual edition of Quality Counts continues Education Week’s long-standing tradition of grading the states on their performance. The overall grades for the nation and the states are the average of scores on the three separate indices tracked by the report.

This year’s report also focuses on educational accountability as its special theme. The report examines how new state and federal strategies are transforming the assessment of school performance and reshaping the consequences for poor results. As part of this project, the Education Week Research Center conducted an original analysis of student achievement in the No Child Left Behind era. The analysis highlights results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress from 2003 to 2015. It examines achievement, poverty-based gaps, and trends over time.

Overall findings from Quality Counts show that some states perform consistently well or poorly across the full range of graded categories. However, a closer examination of the results reveals that most states post a strong showing in at least one area. This suggests that while broad evaluations of state rankings and performance can be useful, a deeper reading of the results presented in this State Highlights Report will provide a more nuanced perspective on the educational condition of the nation and the states.

National Highlights Report

Education Nation Earns a C on Quality Counts Report Card
December 30, 2015
1 min read

State Highlights Reports (in alphabetical order)

Education Alabama Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 47th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Alaska Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 20th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Arizona Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 45th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Arkansas Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 40th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education California Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 41st in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Colorado Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 24th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Connecticut Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Fifth in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Delaware Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 16th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education District of Columbia Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 28th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Florida Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 30th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Georgia Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 33rd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Hawaii Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 25th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Idaho Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 48th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Illinois Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 17th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Indiana Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 21st in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Iowa Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 19th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Kansas Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 26th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Kentucky Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 27th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Louisiana Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 44th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Maine Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 14th in Nation
December 30, 2015
2 min read
Education Maryland Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Fourth in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Massachusetts Earns a B-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks First in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Michigan Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 35th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Minnesota Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 10th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Mississippi Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 50th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Missouri Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 31st in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Montana Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 29th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Nebraska Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 18th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Nevada Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 51st in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education New Hampshire Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Sixth in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education New Jersey Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Second in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education New Mexico Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 49th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education New York Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Ninth in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education North Carolina Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 37th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education North Dakota Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 15th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Ohio Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 23rd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Oklahoma Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 46th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Oregon Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 39th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Pennsylvania Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Seventh in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Rhode Island Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 13th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education South Carolina Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 43rd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education South Dakota Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 38th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Tennessee Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 36th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Texas Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 42nd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Utah Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 32nd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Vermont Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Third in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Virginia Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 12th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Washington Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 22nd in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education West Virginia Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 34th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Wisconsin Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 11th in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read
Education Wyoming Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Eighth in Nation
December 30, 2015
1 min read

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.