FARK.com: (5903168) Every year, 4th and 8th graders are tested in reading and math. Here's how the states fared, from best to worst. (warning: slideshow)

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		Every year, 4th and 8th graders are tested in reading and math. Here's how the states fared, from best to worst. (warning: slideshow) (thedailybeast.com)		435
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FlashHarry		2011-01-24 11:37:52 AM

not a lot of red states up front. gee, i wonder why that is.

sweetmelissa31		2011-01-24 11:40:43 AM

FlashHarry: not a lot of red states up front. gee, i wonder why that is.

Liberal media bias, as usual.

Vanetia		2011-01-24 11:44:29 AM

We're 41! We're 41! We're 41!

/sigh

ecmoRandomNumbers		2011-01-24 11:47:16 AM

I'm not scrolling through 49 pages of that just to get to where I suspect Arizona is.

Rev.K		2011-01-24 11:49:03 AM

FlashHarry: not a lot of red states up front. gee, i wonder why that is.

They're heroically ridding their states of the scourge of socialism.

FlashHarry		2011-01-24 11:56:21 AM

kansas is 16th? i guess i suppose there weren't any science questions on there.

jbuist		2011-01-24 12:08:55 PM

I see DC is right where I expected. #1 in spending, #51 in results.

exvaxman		2011-01-24 12:28:23 PM

I grew up in Mass before moving to Ill. I swear I was two years ahead of my classmates at that time. I was showing my 7th grade math teacher easier ways to do things that he was trying to teach to the class.

However, my kid brought home his test scores. Top percentile for reading. 8th grader reading at "above" college level. Horsepucky! There is no way he is reading at that level - the test has some obvious flaws. I can agree with his math scores in the same test - he is more advanced that I was at that age and is representing his school in the math olympics.

SpaceyCat		2011-01-24 12:47:46 PM

Say what you will about "Liberal" New England - of the 6 New England states, 4 are in the top 10 and three are in the top 5. Suck it Red staters.

SpaceyCat		2011-01-24 12:48:38 PM

ecmoRandomNumbers: I'm not scrolling through 49 pages of that just to get to where I suspect Arizona is.

AZ is #40....

Snarfangel		2011-01-24 12:54:02 PM

Bah, Massachusetts is just teaching to the test.

TheDumbBlonde		2011-01-24 12:58:34 PM

Well, I'm glad to know that when I go to a Starbucks in New England, that the person making my non-fat, iced latte scored well on their 4th and 8th grade standardized tests.

Shostie		2011-01-24 12:58:36 PM

Texas at #35. Not terrible for the south.

xanadian		2011-01-24 01:03:17 PM

Vanetia: We're 41! We're 41! We're 41!

/sigh

We're #14! We're #14! We're #14!

I noticed that for Southern states, Florida did pretty damn well.

How weird is THAT???

Brettster808		2011-01-24 01:06:59 PM

1. Massachusetts
2 Vermont
3. New Jersey
4. New Hampshire
5. Minnesota
6. Connecticut
7. Pennsylvania
8. Maryland
9. Washington
10. Ohio
11. Colorado
12. Virginia
13. Montana
14. Maine
15. Wisconsin
16. Kansas
17. Illinois
18. Missouri
19 New York
20. Indiana
21. Oregon
22. South Dakota
23. Overseas Military Bases
24. Nebraska
25. North Dakota
26. Delaware
27. Iowa
28. Utah
29. North Carolina
30. Florida
31. Kentucky
32. Idaho
33. Michigan
34. Wyoming
35. Texas
36. Rhode Island
37. Alaska
38. South Carolina
39. Georgia
40. Arizona
41. California
42. Arkansas
43. Hawaii
44. Tennessee
45. Alabama
46. Nevada
47. Oklahoma
48. Louisiana
49. New Mexico
50. West Virginia
51. District of Columbia
52. Mississippi

Sumatra		2011-01-24 01:07:03 PM

One and done. For those of you who don't live in MA: enjoy the slideshow!

xynix		2011-01-24 01:10:52 PM

Brettster808:
39. Georgia
41. California

Thats funny!

sweetmelissa31		2011-01-24 01:15:15 PM

TheDumbBlonde: Well, I'm glad to know that when I go to a Starbucks in New England, that the person making my non-fat, iced latte scored well on their 4th and 8th grade standardized tests.

Yeah, I'm sure you order the non-fat version.

Dr.Knockboots		2011-01-24 01:30:55 PM

exvaxman: I grew up in Mass before moving to San Diego.

FTFM-

.. same story though. My high school was the closest to the Mexico border, and to say we had watered down curriculum is a huge understatement. My English (vocab) /math/science classes were jokes. My school work in Mass was about 2 years ahead of where we were in S.D.. sad now that I look back at it.

TheDumbBlonde		2011-01-24 01:34:46 PM

sweetmelissa31: TheDumbBlonde: Well, I'm glad to know that when I go to a Starbucks in New England, that the person making my non-fat, iced latte scored well on their 4th and 8th grade standardized tests.

Yeah, I'm sure you order the non-fat version.

Ha, ha! You caught me! I'm a big fattie!! You're very clever. You must be from New England.

HulkHands		2011-01-24 01:43:29 PM

SpaceyCat: Say what you will about "Liberal" New England - of the 6 New England states, 4 are in the top 10 and three are in the top 5. Suck it Red staters.

RI is bringing us down

HulkHands		2011-01-24 01:48:07 PM

Dr.Knockboots: exvaxman: I grew up in Mass before moving to San Diego.

FTFM-

.. same story though. My high school was the closest to the Mexico border, and to say we had watered down curriculum is a huge understatement. My English (vocab) /math/science classes were jokes. My school work in Mass was about 2 years ahead of where we were in S.D.. sad now that I look back at it.

A bit of my family moved from CT to New Mexico. They said that it's really easy to work there, as the standard work week for many from NM is 4 days and you take a day off, or leave a 11 AM on Fridays or check out early each day. Those that work 9-5 each day of the week are considered "over-achievers" and generally given promotions very quickly. When you look at the higher positions in many business places they're from out of state.

/hearsay, your mileage may vary

sweetmelissa31		2011-01-24 01:50:27 PM

TheDumbBlonde: Ha, ha! You caught me! I'm a big fattie!! You're very clever. You must be from New England.

My, we are touchy.

Vanetia		2011-01-24 01:55:44 PM

Dr.Knockboots: exvaxman: I grew up in Mass before moving to San Diego.

FTFM-

.. same story though. My high school was the closest to the Mexico border, and to say we had watered down curriculum is a huge understatement. My English (vocab) /math/science classes were jokes. My school work in Mass was about 2 years ahead of where we were in S.D.. sad now that I look back at it.

This is what my daughter's elementary school was like. 65% non-English-speaking students. And they mix them together to "immerse" them in with the native English speakers. Which may be great for the ESL kids, but it seriously stunts the growth of the EFL kids.

So glad my daughter made it in to the local magnet school. She's shown much better growth this past year, and her love for learning has returned to her.

I can't help but think a big reason CA is as low as it is is because of the high concentration of ESL kids. Even with math concepts, if you're using English to teach those concepts, and word problems as some of the questions, ESL kids are going to find it harder to learn.

TheDumbBlonde		2011-01-24 01:56:32 PM

sweetmelissa31: TheDumbBlonde: Ha, ha! You caught me! I'm a big fattie!! You're very clever. You must be from New England.

My, we are touchy.

No, like most fatties, I'm actually quite jolly.

SphericalTime		2011-01-24 01:58:23 PM

Sumatra: One and done. For those of you who don't live in MA: enjoy the slideshow!

I live in MA now, but I'm from NM. After checking the top five, I skipped directly to 52. Saved me a lot of time clicking around.

/Go 49. As usual.

abb3w		2011-01-24 02:00:25 PM

xanadian: I noticed that for Southern states, Florida did pretty damn well. How weird is THAT???

Florida is Southern state, but not a "Deep South" State. Those are usually considered to be Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina -placing 45, 39, 48, 52, and 38.

Additionally, Florida's been putting some effort into improving their education for about the last decade. That it's paid off makes some sense. (The last round of science standards are quite good. Math, I was less impressed with, but then I'm a kook who thinks math standards suck across the board nationwide.)

JerseyTim		2011-01-24 02:15:46 PM

Jersey rules!!

2wolves		2011-01-24 02:16:14 PM

Motto of the Texas Board of Education?

Thank Jeebus for Mississippi!

SnakeLee		2011-01-24 02:39:43 PM

UberDave		2011-01-24 02:41:52 PM

Woo hoo!! #35! We are so smrt!

/Naturally, all the elitists are at the top

quickdraw		2011-01-24 02:47:52 PM

California is BELOW Arizona. sigh. I remember pre prop 13 when California had one of the best educational systems in the world.

Smelly McUgly		2011-01-24 02:48:03 PM

I'm surprised Arizona is that high. The public school systems are already gutted and Governor farkup is just looking to cut education even more (probably so that the resulting increase in crime will give her inmates for the private prisons that she's invested in).

The state I now live in is a top ten state, on the other hand.

Arkanaut		2011-01-24 02:48:12 PM

HulkHands: SpaceyCat: Say what you will about "Liberal" New England - of the 6 New England states, 4 are in the top 10 and three are in the top 5. Suck it Red staters.

RI is bringing us down

Well, they can still get into Brown.

bacongood		2011-01-24 02:48:32 PM

FlashHarry: not a lot of red states up front. gee, i wonder why that is.

Because a lot of 4th and 8th graders vote...

Rapmaster2000		2011-01-24 02:49:57 PM

I'm proud to say Georgia has moved up to #39 in education. Almost as proud as I am to say that Georgia is #2 in execution by heavy stone.

Look out Arkansas! We got your number!

maxximillian		2011-01-24 02:50:28 PM

overseas military bases is 23? Why don't 24 and worse just use their teaching plans. If it's the military it's probably documented.

sethstorm		2011-01-24 02:51:10 PM

So much for the argument that Right to Work states having better educational programs.

That said:
What is it with the Right to Work states testing lower academically, yet businesses want to locate there for a skilled workforce? Or do they simply don't care about the workforce, but care that those states cater to business?

TsukasaK		2011-01-24 02:51:20 PM

34. Could be better, but old Wyoming was higher up the list than I thought it would be.

Ninja Wicked		2011-01-24 02:51:24 PM

xynix: Brettster808:
39. Georgia
41. California

Thats funny!

Mexicans cant math

Invisible Pedestrian		2011-01-24 02:51:45 PM

A baloo is a bear.

/but deep down you knew that already, didn't you

AnubisMan		2011-01-24 02:51:55 PM

Ninja Wicked: xynix: Brettster808:
39. Georgia
41. California

Thats funny!

Mexicans cant math

Que?

DrewCurtisJr		2011-01-24 02:52:09 PM

HulkHands: RI is bringing us down

What's up with that? Why is RI so far below its neighboring states?

Barnstormer		2011-01-24 02:52:09 PM

So the first state with universal health care and gay marriage is the smartest, huh? Go figure.

tortilla burger		2011-01-24 02:52:24 PM

xynix: Brettster808:
39. Georgia
41. California

Thats funny!

That doesn't surprise me, considering a lot of Californian kids can't speak English at all

discgolfguru		2011-01-24 02:52:37 PM

#50. Somehow I am not surprised.

Smelly McUgly		2011-01-24 02:53:02 PM

FlashHarry: not a lot of red states up front. gee, i wonder why that is.

Because Northern states, which tend to be blue, have historically had a better infrastructure for public education, likely tied to the growing industrialization of the North, whereas Southern states, which tend to be red, took longer to set up a proper infrastructure for education since their agrarian society wasn't as highly concentrated, etc.

Is that part of the answer? Do I win?

bravian		2011-01-24 02:53:03 PM

We're number 5!
We're number 5!
We're number 5!

/sucked at math
//and reading
///and writing

Guess_Who		2011-01-24 02:53:10 PM

I'm not going through that entire slideshow. Can someone just tell me who is number 1 and who is number 57.

BillSmith70		2011-01-24 02:54:03 PM

Snarfangel: Bah, Massachusetts is just teaching to the test.

Government school teachers are caught all the time doing that. Government schools do not educate, they indoctrinate.

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