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States From Our Research Center

Quality Counts 2015: State and National Highlights Reports

The Quality Counts 2015 Highlights Reports capture all of the data you need to assess your state’s performance in key areas. The information is presented in a series of charts and graphs, and includes comparisons to national averages. You won’t want to miss your state’s data, so download your copy now:

State Highlights Reports are available for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and compare individual state data to national data. The National Highlights Report includes the national average and data for the top and bottom states.

Your Report Includes

State Summative Grades

Chance for Success Index (2015)

K-12 Achievement (2014)

School Finance (2015)

Special for Quality Counts 2015

Early Education Index state grades (2015)

  • Preschool and kindergarten enrollment rates
  • Preschool enrollment rate gains
  • Preschool poverty gap and poverty gap changes
  • Full-day preschool and kindergarten enrollment rates
  • Head Start participation

National data on early education enrollment by

  • Age
  • Family income
  • Ethnicity/race
  • Public versus private programs

You may also like reports from previous years:


About These Reports

The 19th annual edition of Quality Counts resumes °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳’s long-standing tradition of grading the states on their performance. This year, those grades return in a newer, leaner form that focuses on outcomes rather than on policy and processes. A state’s overall grade is the average of its scores on the three separate indices tracked by the report. These legacy indices are Chance-for-Success (updated in 2015); K12 Achievement (updated in 2014); and school finance (updated in 2015). State Highlights Reports contain each jurisdiction’s data on the summative grades, the three indices and the nearly 40 indicators that comprise Quality Counts’ overall grading rubric.

This year’s report also focuses on early-childhood education as its special theme, examining how new academic demands and accountability pressures are altering the learning environment for young children and the educators serving them. For this year’s report, the °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ Research Center issued state and national grades for a new Early Education Index, which draws on an original analysis of participation in early-education programs, poverty-based gaps in enrollment, and trends over time.

Overall findings from Quality Counts show that some states perform consistently well or poorly across the full range of graded categories. However, a closer examination of the results reveals that most states post a strong showing in at least one area. This suggests that while broad evaluations of state rankings and performance can be useful, a deeper reading of the results presented in this State Highlights Report will provide a more nuanced perspective on the educational condition of the nation and the states.

National Highlights Report

Education Nation Earns a C on Quality Counts' New State Report Card
January 3, 2015
1 min read

State Highlights Reports (in Alphabetical Order)

Education Alabama Earns a D-Plus, Finishes 45th in National Education Rankings
January 3, 2015
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Education Alaska Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 26th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Arizona Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 47th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Arkansas Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 36th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education California Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 42nd in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Colorado Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 21st in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Connecticut Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Sixth in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Delaware Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 15th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education District of Columbia Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 38th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Florida Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 28th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Georgia Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 31st in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Hawaii Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 23rd in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Idaho Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 46th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Illinois Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 17th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Indiana Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 25th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Iowa Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 24th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Kansas Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 20th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Kentucky Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 29th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Louisiana Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 44th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Maine Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 14th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Maryland Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Third in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Massachusetts Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks First in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Michigan Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 32nd in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Minnesota Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 10th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Mississippi Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 51st in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Missouri Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 33rd in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Montana Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 30th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Nebraska Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 22nd in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Nevada Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 50th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education New Hampshire Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Fifth in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education New Jersey Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Second in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education New Mexico Earns a D on State Report Card, Ranks 49th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education New York Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Ninth in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education North Carolina Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 34th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education North Dakota Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 16th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Ohio Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 18th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Oklahoma Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 48th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Oregon Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 41st in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Pennsylvania Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Eighth in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Rhode Island Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 13th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education South Carolina Earns a D-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 43rd in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education South Dakota Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 40th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Tennessee Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 37th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Texas Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 39th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Utah Earns a C-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks 35th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Vermont Earns a B on State Report Card, Ranks Fourth in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Virginia Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 12th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Washington Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 19th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education West Virginia Earns a C on State Report Card, Ranks 27th in Nation
January 3, 2015
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Education Wisconsin Earns a C-Plus on State Report Card, Ranks 11th in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read
Education Wyoming Earns a B-Minus on State Report Card, Ranks Seventh in Nation
January 3, 2015
1 min read

In March 2024, °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.