Nebraska’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

Nebraska scores below the average state on two out of four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

The state lags farthest behind in standards and accountability, where it ranks among the last states in the nation. This poor showing can be attributed, in part, to its lack of assessments aligned to state standards in mathematics, science, and social studies at any grade span. In addition, Nebraska does not have sanctions in place that hold all low-performing schools accountable for their performance.

Nebraska fares somewhat better in efforts to improve teacher quality, but still falls short of the average state. Nebraska does not require subject-knowledge tests for prospective middle or high school teachers to earn initial licenses. In addition, the state does not have written professional-development standards, nor does it require and finance mentoring for new teachers.

Nebraska earns an average grade in school climate. But its grade dips because it is one of the few states that do not allow charter schools. Nebraska fares well on indicators of class and school size and earns points for its policies on bullying or harassment in schools.

In resource equity, Nebraska ranks higher than the average state. Its score on the wealth-neutrality measure indicates that poorer districts in the state tend to have higher per-pupil funding levels than do wealthier districts. Nebraska is one of only 10 states in which this pattern is found.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.