To the Editor:
Let me get this straight. Quality Counts 2005: No Small Change, Targeting Money Toward Student Performance (Special Report, Jan. 6, 2005) presumes to evaluate how states are targeting money toward student performance. New Hampshire ranks among the top states in all the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, and does so at a per-pupil cost that is less than the national average. Yet, perversely, its Quality Counts report card contains two D-minuses, a D-plus, and a B-plus, the lowest rating of any state.
Could it be that New Hampshire, with its tradition of small schools, local control, and minimal state intervention, may have something to teach the rest of the country?
Thomas Newkirk
Durham, N.H.
