FROM CRADLE TO CAREER — A study on success rates in various states has just been published and should trigger a lot of resentment between the citizens and state governments.
qc07_supptables.pdf (application/pdf Object) (Caution link opens a PDF) — Here is the main report in its entirelty.
The real Golden State is Virginia, where children are most likely to become well-educated adults with steady, high-paying jobs, according to researchers from the nonprofit Editorial Projects in Education Research Center in Washington, D.C.
Children born in New Mexico were deemed least likely to succeed.
The researchers stacked up all the states and the District of Columbia against 13 measures of success, ranging from parents’ employment and English fluency to children’s test scores and graduation rates.
Top 10 States where Children can be assured of a successful life:
1. Virginia
2. Connecticut
3. Minnesota
4. New Jersey
5. Maryland
6. Massachusetts
7. New Hampshire
8. Wisconsin
9. Nebraska
10. Vermont
And I should ention that these are the states (above) where most of the Dvorak Uncensored Readers are located (seriously).
Here are the bottom 10 or the worst places with the most dummies and offering little chance for success amongst children raised there. Since Washington DC is listed you get 51 competitors. Here are the worst.
42. South Carolina
43. Nevada
44. West Virginia
45. Arkansas
46. Mississippi
47. Tennessee
48. Texas
49. Arizona
50. Louisiana
51. New Mexico
California, a state which as a stand-alone would be the world’s 7th largest economy showed up at number 34th, pathetic considering the wealth. A good new account of this report is here.
#32, Parents get tax breaks for their kids. This has the side effect of making childless people pay more taxes toward education than the people with kids who are actually using the schools. Does this make sense? To sound like a liberal for a moment, I don’t think this is “fair”.
So what is fair? That I’m better looking then you isn’t fair either. Or that I might be more intelligent isn’t fair. Or my parents can get me into a “good” school while your parents can’t isn’t fair. Or you have a harder time getting a second date because of a certain condition isn’t fair either. That because my wife’s and mine incomes allow us to do things you can’t afford to isn’t fair either. Or even being childless gives you a certain freedom parents don’t have isn’t fair. Or being born with spina bifida isn’t fair. Gee, life has a lot of things that aren’t fair.
(pls note, I mean the word YOU in the general sense, not personal)
I don’t have all the answers, but the teachers unions will tell us we shouldn’t even be asking the questions – we should just shut up and hand over more money.
I would be interested in you pointing out ONE teacher’s union that suggested we should just shut up and hand over the money. That is something the Republicans do. Demand we spend the money and then call us disloyal and question our motives if we question it.