3:27 p.m. EST, January 13, 2011

Maryland's 24 public school systems have been recognized once again by Education Week as the best in the nation. Maryland's boards of education, superintendents, teachers and students are clearly doing outstanding work from pre-kindergarten through high school graduation. Maryland students are being prepared to enter school ready to learn, given rigorous classroom instruction so that they are reading at grade level, achieving the high standards and goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act for proficiency for all students in reading, math and science, and entering the workforce and higher education ready for the challenges of the 21st century.

This is no accident. Maryland's success was paid for with state and local tax dollars generously provided to