RI’s High Cost, Low Results Schools
Another report gave RI schools a bad grade for their schools, relative to spending. WPRI’s Dan McGowan covered it today and wrote that Educacation Week gave Rhode Island a D+ for student achievement.
There are a couple places where RI students have improved in the last 10 years, like math achievement and advanced placement scores.
But when looking at how much RI spends on education, $3,000 more than the national average, this study again shows that RI doesn’t get a good return on its investment. Two numbers stuck out in the article:
The report noted Rhode Island ranked No. 48 in the country when it comes to poverty-based achievement gaps in reading and math
and
Only 68.5% of eligible Rhode Island students were enrolled in kindergarten, worst in the country.
And then, information about some of our neighbors:
By comparison, Massachusetts received top billing in the nation for its student achievement, earning a B. New Hampshire and Vermont ranked among the top five in country in that category
Why? What are they doing so much better than we are? I know some say that education is hard when you come from a poor or broken home. I have a hard time believing that MA doesn’t have similar situations while they’re finding ways to have the best education in the country. Why are we lagging so far behind our neighbors?