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Monday, October 24, 2005
Georgia Is Not Last
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In a recent presentation on SAT scores, state Superintendent Kathy Cox screeched: “DON’T TELL ME GEORGIA IS LAST … IT’S JUST NOT TRUE!!!”
Well, on the SAT Georgia is tied for last with South Carolina. But why does last on the SAT have to translate into last in education? More Georgia kids take the SAT in Georgia than in other states, making state-to-state comparisons statistically invalid.
For a more accurate last-place dishonor, look to to my home state of Mississippi, which was last in reading on the NAEP with 52 percent of fourth-graders below basic, compared to 42 percent in Georgia. Or New Mexico, last in fourth-grade math, with 35 percent below basic, compared to 24 percent in Georgia. Or Hawaii, pulling up the rear in eighth-grade reading with 42 percent below basic, compared to 33 percent in Georgia. As for eighth-grade math … it’s again Mississippi, where 48 percent were below basic compared with 38 percent in Georgia.
Check out your home state here.
Yes, Georgia has a loooong way to go in education. Yes, Georgia has a lot of problems over which we should all hang our heads in shame. Dropouts, for example, as well as our dismal SAT performance (No matter how Cox spins it, the fact is there are a lot of Georgia high school students who want to go to college but don’t have the academic foundation.) But Cox speaks the truth when she says Georgia isn’t last.
Thoughts? (And, yes, I’m prepared to take the blame along with the entire media establishment for reinforcing the notion that Georgia is last in education.)
