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Grading Schools

Many state departments of education offer "report cards" on schools' and districts' performance. However, buyer beware: such reports can be difficult, if not impossible, to decipher. So we've also provided here other reliable sources to help you get a better handle on student achievement in your school and state, as well as some sites with useful information about parents' choices under No Child Left Behind, the federal law that empowers families to find better schools if theirs is failing. (Also available in our Local Resources searchable database.)

The Big Picture: Link here to CER's State-by-State Scorecard rating states' education efforts and achievement across the board, as well as the Nation's Report Card on reading and math proficiency, state-by-state.

• GreatSchools.org
  GreatSchools.org is a nonprofit online guide to K-12 schools that provides parents with the information they need to guide their children's education, bringing an Amazon.com level of consumer friendliness to parents who are looking for school information.

• Just for the Kids
  Just for the Kids' mission is to raise academic standards and increase student achievement by analyzing state test data to identify how well individual schools are performing, studying the highest-performing schools to find out what works, and training to help others learn what the best schools are doing.

• No Child Left Behind U.S. Department of Education Website
  The goal of No Child Left Behind is to create the best educational opportunities for our nation's children and to ensure that they have every opportunity to succeed. 

• SchoolMatch
  6167 Deeside Dr.
  Dublin, OH 43017
  (614) 890-1573
  SchoolMatch is a school research and database service firm that specializes in rating schools (K-12), providing data which are both accurate and comparative across school systems, county and state lines. Offers free and fee services.

• SchoolMatters.com
  SchoolMatters gives policymakers, educators, and parents the tools they need to make better-informed decisions that improve student performance.

• Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services
  School Evaluation Services (SES) provides powerful decision-making tools for parents, taxpayers, school administrators, educators, and policy makers committed to improving student achievement and the management of schools. SES analyzes academic, financial, and demographic indicators and trends; provides valuable comparative benchmarks; and presents Standard & Poor's impartial findings on the performance of schools. SES features a unique synthesis of financial and academic performance factors that promotes the sharing of best practices among schools.

• Alabama Department of Education Accountability Reporting System 

• Alaska Department of Education Report Card to the Public
  Alaska's Report Card To The Public

Arizona

• Arizona Department of Education
  Arizona School Report Cards

California

• California Department of Education Public Schools Accountability Act Webpage
  The Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA), signed into law in 1999 (SB 1X, Chapter 3 of 1999), authorizes the creation of a new educational accountability system for California public schools. Its primary goal is to help schools improve the academic achievement of all students.

• School Wise Press
  School Wise Press seeks to put the power of information about California schools in the hands of parents by creating and distributing information that clarifies how schools work and how schools differ, and guides parents as to how they can more fully participate in school life.

• Colorado Department of Education Student Assessment Website

• Independence Institute Education Policy Center
  The Independence Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization dedicated to providing timely information to concerned citizens, government officials, and public opinion leaders.

• Connecticut State Department of Education

• Delaware Public Schools Profiles Website, The Delaware Department of Education

• District of Columbia Public Schools

• Florida Department of Education NCLB / AYP Reports

• Georgia Department of Education AYP Report Cards

• Hawaii Department of Education

• Idaho State Department of Education

• Illinois Board of Education

• Indiana Department of Education

• Iowa Department of Education School Profiles

• Kansas Department of Education

• Kentucky Department of Education

• Louisiana Department of Education

• State of Maine School Profiles

• Maryland Report Card

• Massachusetts Department of Education
  MCAS is the Commonwealth's statewide student assessment program. View test items, results and other resources.

• Michigan School Report Cards

• Minnesota Department of Education

• Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System

• Missouri Assessment Program (MAP)

• Montana Office of Public Instruction

• Nebraska Department of Education

• Nevada Annual Reports of Accountability

• New Hampshire Department of Education School District Profile

• New Jersey Department of Education School Report Card Website

• New Jersey Department of Education Standards and Assessments Page

• New Mexico Department of Education
  (505) 827-6528

• InsideSchools.org: The Independent Guide to New York City Public Schools
  Independent non-profit offering authoritative reviews of New York City's more than 1,100 public schools. Provides a rare, inside view of what's really happening in schools -- including but going well beyond test score information.

• New York State Education Department

• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction School Report Cards

• North Dakota Department of Public Instruction

• Ohio Department of Education Interactive Local Report Card

• Oklahoma State Education Department

• Oregon Department of Education School and District Report Cards

• Pennsylvania Department of Education School Report Cards

• Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

• South Carolina School Report Cards

• South Dakota Department of Education

• Tennessee Department of Education

• Texas Education Agency Accountability Rating System

• State of Utah Office of Education

• Vermont Department of Education School Report Card
  The Vermont School Report is an annual report developed by the Vermont Department of Education and is continuously updated as new information becomes available throughout the year.

• Virginia Department of Education School Performance Report Card
  The School Performance Report Card provides parents and the community important information about the academic achievement of students in each Virginia school.

• Washington Department of Education

• West Virginia Department of Education Report Cards
  A report card containing school, county, and state data is generated and disseminated annually with data on items such as student achievement, attendance rate, dropout rate, average class size, and county-level instructional and non instructional expenditures.

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

• Wyoming Department of Education

Lack of Math Proficiency Underscores the Need for School Options
CER Press Release, Washington, DC, October 14, 2009
American students are not being properly prepared to succeed in the global workforce and demonstrate slower progress than ever before in math proficiency, according to an evaluation of test scores under the Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) released today.

Check This Out:

Get Connected: Find education reform organizations and websites that offer resources and support for your state or nationwide.