RheeFormy Logic & Goofball Rating Schemes: Comments & Analysis on the Students First State Policy Grades « School Finance 101

RheeFormy Logic & Goofball Rating Schemes: Comments & Analysis on the Students First State Policy Grades « School Finance 101:

RheeFormy Logic & Goofball Rating Schemes: Comments & Analysis on the Students First State Policy Grades

by schoolfinance101

On Monday, the organization Students First came out with their state policy rankings, just in time to promote their policy agenda in state legislatures across the country. Let’s be clear, Students First’s state policy rankings are based on a list of what Students First thinks states should do. It’s entirely about their political preferences – largely reformy policies – template stuff that has been sweeping the reformiest states over the past few years. I’ll have more to say about these preferred policies at the end of this post.
Others have already pointed out that Students First gave good grades to states like Louisiana and Florida, and crummy grades to states like New Jersey or Massachusetts – but that states like Louisiana have notoriously among the worst school systems – lowest test scores – in the nation – whereas states like New Jersey and Massachusetts have pretty darn good test scores and well respected school systems. I’ll go there as well, but not as my primary focus. Clearly there’s  more behind the test score differences than policy context. New Jersey and Massachusetts certainly have more educated, more affluent adult and parent populations than Louisiana, and that makes a difference.
I’ll anxiously await the day good reformers like Mike Petrilli pack their bags and leave their suburban Washington