Special Report
School & District Management

Delaware Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 17th in Nation

January 17, 2018 | Updated: September 05, 2018 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The 22nd annual edition of Quality Counts continues Education Week’s long-standing tradition of grading the states on their performance. A state’s overall grade is the average of its scores on the three separate indices tracked by the report.

State Overview

This year, Delaware finishes 17th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with an overall score of 77.1 out of 100 points and a grade of C-plus. The nation as a whole posts a grade of C.

Diving into the findings for the three graded indices, Delaware earns a B-minus in the Chance-for-Success category and ranks 25th. The average state earns a C-plus. In School Finance, Delaware receives a B-minus and ranks 14th. For the K-12 Achievement Index, it finishes 34th with a grade of D-plus. The average state earns grades of C in School Finance and K-12 Achievement. More details on results in these categories are reported below.

Chance for Success

The Education Week Research Center developed the Chance-for-Success Index to better understand the role that education plays in promoting positive outcomes across an individual’s lifetime. Based on an original state-by-state analysis, this index combines information from 13 indicators that span a person’s life from cradle to career. Those indicators fall into three sub-sections: early foundations, school years, and adult outcomes.

For early foundations, which examines factors that help children get off to a good start, Delaware earns a grade of B-plus and ranks 20th. The average state posts a B-minus.

Delaware receives a C-plus for the school years, a sub-category focusing on metrics related to pre-K enrollment through postsecondary participation. It finishes 27th in the nation in this area. By comparison, the nation as a whole earns a C-plus.

In the area of adult outcomes, based on postsecondary educational attainment and workforce indicators, Delaware’s grade is a B-minus. It ranks 22nd in the nation. The national average is a C-plus.

School Finance

The school finance analysis examines two critical aspects of school spending. Of the eight indicators in this category, four assess school spending patterns, while the remaining metrics gauge equity in the distribution of funding across the districts within each state.

Across the spending indicators, Delaware finishes with a C-plus compared with a national average of D-minus. Delaware ranks 16th in the nation in this area.

On the equity measures, Delaware receives a B, which places it 44th in the national rankings. The nation as a whole earns a B.

K-12 Achievement

The K-12 Achievement Index examines 18 distinct achievement measures related to reading and math performance, high school graduation rates, and the results of Advanced Placement exams. The index assigns equal weight to current levels of performance and changes over time. It also places an emphasis on equity, by examining both poverty-based achievement gaps and progress in closing those gaps.

Indicators in the index can be broken down into three sub-categories: status, change, and equity.

Measures in the status sub-category evaluate a state’s current performance. Delaware receives a D in this area and ranks 35th in the nation. The average state earns a D-plus.

The change sub-category examines a state’s improvement over time. In this area, Delaware posts an F and ranks 50th. The national average is a C-minus.

In the equity sub-section, states are graded based on achievement gaps between low-income students and their more affluent peers. Delaware’s grade on those poverty-gap measures stands at an A. Nationally, it ranks first in this area. The nation as a whole receives a B.

View more 2018 reports on states and the nation

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.

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

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

School & District Management Opinion For Principals, Emotional Intelligence Is More Than Just Being ‘Nice’
Emotions are contagious. When leaders struggle, the school environment does, too.
Marc Brackett, James Floman & Robin Stern
5 min read
Juggling emotions control concept, businessman juggling emotions icons and mood control, mindfulness and psychology, techniques and techniques for managing anger
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How Can Principals Grow the Next Generation of Teachers? Listen to My Student
Here’s what made this high schooler want to become a public school teacher.
S. Kambar Khoshaba & Mina Etemadi
4 min read
Conceptual image of growing the next generation of teachers from students.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management How Los Angeles Schools Are Responding to the ICE Raids and Protests
The school year in Los Angeles is ending amid immigration raids, protests, and the activation of National Guard troops and Marines.
4 min read
Los Angeles police officers with batons and riot gear attempt to move back protesters in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025.
Los Angeles police officers with batons and riot gear attempt to move back protesters in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the district's police force planned to set up "perimeters of safety" around graduation ceremonies this week amid immigration raids in the city, protests, and the activation of National Guard troops and Marines.
Eric Thayer/AP
School & District Management Download How to Boost Teacher Morale: A Guide for District Leaders (DOWNLOADABLE)
Our discussion guide for district leaders has three takeaways about teachers' attitudes toward their job. Use it to jump start PD with your team.
1 min read
A leader meets with their team. Superintendents, principals, schools leaders, district maps.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva