Thomas B. Fordham Institute - Advancing Educational Excellence

The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?

November 1, 2006

The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. It finds that just eight states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are at or above proficient in reading, math or science. In addition, most states making significant achievement gains--including California, Delaware, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas--are national leaders in education reform, indicating that solid standards, tough accountability, and greater school choice can yield better classroom results.

View the press release for this report

Contents

Maryland

 

 


 

Education as Political Football

How do you spell education in Maryland? P-o-l-i-t-i-c-s. The same can be said of every state in the union, of course, but in the Old Line State there is no greater roadblock to reforming and improving the K-12 system.

Baltimore City Schools are Exhibit A. Since 1992, when the state began to identify its lowest performing schools, Charm City's schools have dominated the list. But when the most uncharming news broke in June 2005 that the city was home to 22 of the state's 24 schools that repeatedly failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the state had enough and stepped in. With the backing of State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, the state board of education voted to have a third party take over and operate four of the lowest performing middle schools.

The action was understandably unpopular with teachers and their unions. But the person who really hated it was the city's Democratic mayor, Martin O'Malley, who maintained that his administration had "improved test scores" during his tenure.

O'Malley is running for governor this year against Republican incumbent Robert Ehrlich, so more than a few eyebrows were raised when, in April 2006, the Democrat-led General Assembly voted to keep the Baltimore schools under local control, reversing the state board's effort and leaving O'Malley the victor. Republican leaders were furious.

"The fact that that man [O'Malley] convinced [the legislature] to stop the restructuring of those schools is criminal," said State Senator Janet Greenip, a Republican member of the state's education subcommittee. 

Republicans see this as "business as usual," but, they've long blamed the state's union-friendly legislators and liberal Assembly for blocking reforms. But State Senator Paul Pinsky, a Democrat and chairman of the education policy subcommittee, denies that his party is stymieing reform. Instead, he says, the legislature "believes in public schools" and won't support untested reforms.

Republicans may enjoy blaming Democrats, but they, too, have failed to act to improve education at opportune times. The Steele Commission of late 2005 is just one example. Led by Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele (the state's Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate), the commission put forward 30 ambitious recommendations for overhauling Maryland's K-12 system. Outside of some experimental merit pay programs for teachers, little has come from the report.

Despite all these political problems, there are signs that education reform is taking hold in small ways in the state. One in five Maryland high school students has taken and passed an Advanced Placement exam; only New York does better. Seven in 10 Hispanic students in Maryland graduate from high school on time-the highest percentage in the country. And math scores for African-American eighth-graders are up significantly since 2002, the year President Bush signed NCLB into law.

Grasmick can claim some credit for these modest gains. She has served as chief state school officer for 15 years-under one Republican and two Democratic governors. She is among the longest-serving superintendents in the land and was there when Maryland began its standards movement that launched a decade of testing programs.

But some gaps remain in the fabric of reform. Although an early adopter of standards-based reform, Maryland's standards are just above average in quality. And in the realm of charter schools, the state passed a cramped law two years ago. Twenty-two charters opened this fall, but it isn't easy under this state statute. Bill Reinhard, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said the law is a "cautious triumph."

The greatest challenge in Maryland, however, may well be middle schools. At Baltimore's Thurgood Marshall Middle School, for instance, math achievement scores on the Maryland State Assessment in 2006 were dismal-only three eighth-graders scored above failing. Scores were equally devastating at three other middle schools in the city, said Gary Heath, assistant state superintendent for accountability and assessment.

State Board of Education President Edward L. Root said the state is well aware of the middle school problem and that the board has launched a middle school task force that will look at the achievement gaps between white and minority subgroups. Root said the state is also concerned about the achievement gap between boys and girls at the middle school level. 

Heath, who monitors student test scores regularly, said the problems for low-performing subgroups stem from an absence of qualified teachers at their schools. "I'm concerned for these children. They are more likely not to be getting the education they need. There is no consistency of leadership [at their schools], and there are significant issues with qualified teachers," he said.

The shortage is no exaggeration. Each year there are about 8,000 openings for new teachers, yet the state graduates only about 2,700 teachers annually. The rest come from elsewhere. A trickle of new teachers arrives through alternative routes such as Troops to Teachers and Teach for America. Still, the state lacks openness and flexibility when it comes to allowing teachers to enter the profession from alternative routes.

Like an unruly teenager, Maryland is not living up to its potential. With a track record of reform and experienced, talented leaders, its education system could be achieving much more. Maybe someday politics will no longer get in the way. Maybe someday the education future of Maryland youngsters will be bright-once November 7th is history.

back to top

< Previous  Next >

© Copyright 2003-2010 The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. All Rights Reserved.