Special Report
States From Our Research Center

Quality Counts 2014: State and National Highlights Reports

January 04, 2014 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Quality Counts 2014 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. Your report includes:

State Grades

  • Chance for Success Index (2014)
  • K-12 Achievement (2014)
  • School Finance (2014)
  • Transitions and Alignment (2013)
  • Standards, Assessments, and Accountability (2012)
  • Teaching Profession (2012)

Special for Quality Counts 2014

  • Breakdown of District Enrollment by State
  • Educator Attitudes on School District Governance and Operations

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.

About These Reports

BRIC ARCHIVE

The 18th annual edition of Education Week‘s Quality Counts continues the tradition of tracking key education indicators and grading the states on their performance and outcomes. This year’s report also focuses on school district governance and operations as its special theme, examining the impact of the increasingly complex fiscal, political, and technological forces that are challenging school districts and prompting efforts to cope with new pressures. Education Week journalists take an in-depth look at the prominent developments—including school choice initiatives, district mergers, and federal policy shifts— transforming the traditional environment for education governance.

To complement the report’s journalism, the Education Week Research Center conducted an original survey of school district administrators, who shared their insights and opinions on factors influencing governance and operations in their systems, high-profile reform options, and non-traditional schooling models. Highlights of the study are featured in the report.

This year’s report also features newly updated 50-state information on results in three of the areas monitored by the report on an ongoing basis as part of Quality Counts’ State of the States framework: the Chance for Success Index; the K-12 Achievement Index; and school finance.

To provide a comprehensive perspective on state policy and performance, the 2014 State Highlights Reports integrate updated findings for 2014 with policy data from previous editions of Quality Counts. Those policy categories include data for: standards, assessments, and accountability; the teaching profession; and transitions and alignment. Most of the indicators that appear in Quality Counts are based on original analyses and state-survey data from the Education Week Research Center, supplemented by information published by other organizations.

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.

Education Week Research Center January 2014

You may also like reports from previous years:

National Highlights Report

Related Tags:

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.

A version of this article appeared in the January 09, 2014 edition of Education Week

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States What's on the K-12 Agenda for States This Year? 4 Takeaways
Reading instruction, private school choice, and teacher pay are among the issues leading governors' K-12 education agendas.
6 min read
Gov. Brad Little provides his vision for the 2024 Idaho Legislative session during his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2024, at the Statehouse in Boise.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little outlines his priorities during his State of the State address before lawmakers on Jan. 8, 2024, at the capitol in Boise.
Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP
States Q&A How Districts Can Navigate Tricky Questions Raised by Parents' Rights Laws
Where does a parent's authority stop and a school's authority begin? A constitutional law scholar weighs in.
6 min read
Illustration of dice with arrows and court/law building icons: conceptual idea of laws and authority.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
States What 2024 Will Bring for K-12 Policy: 5 Issues to Watch
School choice, teacher pay, and AI will likely dominate education policy debates.
7 min read
The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. President Joe Biden on Tuesday night will stand before a joint session of Congress for the first time since voters in the midterm elections handed control of the House to Republicans.
The rising role of artificial intelligence in education and other sectors will likely be a hot topic in 2024 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as well as in state legislatures across the country.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
States How a Parents' Rights Law Halted a Child Abuse Prevention Program
State laws that have passed as part of the parents' rights movement have caused confusion and uncertainty over what schools can teach.
7 min read
People hold signs during a protest at the state house in Trenton, N.J., Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. New Jersey lawmakers are set to vote Monday on legislation to eliminate most religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren, as opponents crowd the statehouse grounds with flags and banners, including some reading "My Child, My Choice."
People hold signs during a protest at the state house in Trenton, N.J., on Jan. 13, 2020, opposing legislation to eliminate most religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren. In North Carolina, a bill passed to protect parents' rights in schools caused uncertainty that led two districts to pause a child sex abuse prevention program out of fear it would violate the new law.
Seth Wenig/AP