Fast Facts
•Graduation Rate: 71.5%
•Average SAT Score: 1512
•Average ACT Score: 20.6
•4th Grade NAEP Math Score: 31%
•8th Grade NAEP Math Score: 21%
•4th Grade NAEP Reading Score: 27%
•8th Grade NAEP Reading Score: 24%
•Per Pupil Funding: $10,926
•Public School Enrollment: 282,662
West Virginia
Anyone serious about shaking up the establishment should take a trip to West Virginia. Parent power here is but a thought and little opportunity exists for change that would truly invigorate schools and restore excellence to education.
The state permits parents some choices among traditional public schools, which permits students to attend any public school in the state, but to move from one district to another requires the districts to agree to such transfers.
SOURCE: The Friedman Foundation for Educational ChoiceDespite continuous efforts by legislators, West Virginia is one of the last eight states with no charter school law.
SOURCE: The Essential Guide to Charter School Law 2013 National Ranking and ScorecardWest Virginia could complement an already successful virtual school program with the addition of charter schools.
SOURCE: Digital Learning Now!Objective evidence of student learning is not the preponderant criterion of teacher evaluations, which are not annually required. Neither tenure decisions nor licensure advancement and renewal are based on teacher effectiveness. Eligibility for dismissal is not a consequence of multiple unsatisfactory evaluations. Seniority, not performance, must be considered during layoffs.
Teacher compensation in West Virginia is controlled by a state salary schedule based on seniority and advanced degrees.
SOURCE: National Council on Teacher QualitySchool report cards are available online, but since no choice exists in the state, information on options is not applicable. Elections for the 55 county school boards are held on the 2nd Tuesday in May of even-numbered years. This is a busy time for parents and far from the general election date in November.
Scoreboard
51%
Best Performing Outlets
- Bluefield Daily Telegraph - Online 100%
- Wetzel Chronicle - Online 75%
Total stories:
Total media outlets:
Worst Performing Outlets
- Wheeling News-Register - Online 8%
- Mountain Statesman 17%
Be the Power
- Won't Back Down
- Evaluate Your School
- Explore Choice Programs
- Explore Schooling Options
- Find a Charter School
- Explore Digital Learning Opportunities
- Information is Power!
- National Council on Teacher Quality
- The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
- Digital Learning Now!
- Parent Revolution
- American Federation for Children
- iNACOL
- BAEO
- Your Story
- Action Ideas
- Charter Schools are innovative public schools designed by educators, parents or civic leaders that are open by choice, accountable for results and free from most unnecessary rules and regulations governing conventional public schools. For more information about CER's annual charter law rankings, click here.
- School choice means giving parents the power and opportunity to choose the school their child will attend. States that give all parents the opportunity to choose the best school for their child – whether public, private, parochial or charter – ensure Parent Power!.
- Teacher quality comes with strong, data-driven, performance-based accountability systems that ensure teachers are rewarded, retained and advanced based on how they perform in adding value to the students who they teach, measured predominantly by student achievement, along with skills and responsibilities.
- Transparency in education means giving parents access to good and objective information about their schools, student and teacher performance and options.
- The movement toward improving education in the U.S. today includes a strong focus on online learning, an approach that involves a myriad of delivery mechanisms via online tools for students, no matter where they live or attend school. Online learning is opening up classrooms to the world and ensuring students access to some of the best content and educators.