La. ranks 49th for K-12 performance, progress and reform

Louisiana schools are average at best. That’s the gist of a report released today by the American Legislative Exchange Council titled “Report Card on American Education: Ranking State K-12 Performance, Progress, and Reform.” Louisiana is ranked 49th in the report, which is ALEC’s 17th annual. The state is graded a “B-” for its overall education policies; a “C” for its charter school laws; and a “C-” for overall teacher quality and policies. The state’s overall grade on education policies reflects a drop from a “B” in last year’s study, which ranked Louisiana 47th overall among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The report’s grades are based on data from national test scores, state education policy, charter school regulation and “other benchmarks of quality.” Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania fill the top five spots in the report, with Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and West Virginia bringing up the rear. ALEC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of over 2,000 state legislators that says it “works to promote principles of free markets, limited government and federalism throughout the states.” If you want to take a look at the full 140-page report, you can find it here.