Are you relocating to the Pentagon, or perhaps Andrews AFB or Fort Meade. and trying to decide where to live in the D.C - Baltimore - Annapolis area? Now your choice of where to focus your home search will be much easier because an unbiased source has rated public school systems throughout the country, including Maryland, Virginia, and D.C.
According to Education Week's Annual Quality Counts Report for 2009, Maryland Public Schools top all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Criteria for this ranking by the education publication included:
- Chance for Success
- Transitions and alignments
- School finance
- K-12 achievement
- Standards, assessments, and accountability
In fact, Maryland ranked number one in transitions and alignment policies, which measures a State’s ability to connect the K-12 education system with early learning, higher education and the workforce. The state also achieved a grade of 100 for early-childhood education, 90 for college readiness, and 100 for her economy and workforce.
Maryland moved up from 3rd last year, while schools in neighboring Virginia advanced from #5 to #4 since the 2008 report. Maryland's score of 84.7 and Virginia's 83.2 are significantly above the national score of 76.2. Even at Number 1, however, Maryland has room for improvement because no state scored "A" in the ranking.
If you'd like to find out how the public school system ranked in your state compared to Maryland or a neighboring state, you can click on this map with it's list of scores for every state.
Military personnel and others relocating to the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis Triangle can be easily overwhelmed at the hugeness of this area. Deciding between Maryland, Virginia and D.C. is the first step to choosing a community, and perhaps this chart (Education Week) will help you do that:
For information about schools in the Greater Crofton Area, check out these earlier articles.
Photos: School, Margaret Woda; Students, istockphoto.com
Source of Data for Chart: Education Week
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DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this post is deemed reliable on the date of publication, but it is not guaranteed and it is subject to change without notice.
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Margaret Woda, REALTOR and Associate Broker
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Having great schools is always a good perk for those considering a specific area. I am sure it helps converting more buyers in your area.
Oh my look at those DC's schools. No wonder the President put his kids in Private School. Too bad he is against other parents doing it, such hypocrasy.
Yes, Missy, I doubt you'll find the children of anyone in Congress attending D.C. public schools. In fact, many of them share an apartment with other legislators when they're in town and their families remain back home. Just think... their families could live nearby in Maryland.
Bill, Virginians go on and on about their great schools to the point of absurdity, especially since Maryland schools continue to outrank them.
Fabulous! I was glad to see NJ ranked #5. Would love to see this data on a county level
Margaret-yes us crazy Virginian's try and lure you in with our southern accents and sweet tea :-) Great information! Are you registered for ReBar?
Cindy - I don't recall your doing that, but I'd love to see it! I'm sure you realize some Virginia agents do tell prospects how much better Virginia schools are than Maryland's... I hear it all the time from home buyers who look in both Virginia and Maryland.
JoAnna - I'd love to see that, too. I did watch our local school system last year, and they offered a "report card" on schools within the county.
This is very impressive! I would imagine it would influence many people on their choice of location. It is something to be proud of.
One ont first questions asked by buyers about the area is the schools. They can be such a draw to an area.
52 states? Sounds like an Obamaism (he said 57 in a speech I believe).
Jeff - Actually, that was a typo! Thanks for calling it to my attention. Spell check doesn't always pick up those like a pair of sharp eyes. LOL.
Terry - Ironically, our Governor wanted to fire the State Superintendent last year when he took office, but then the #3 ranking came out and he couldn't get away with it politically. 'Guess now he's glad he didn't.
Sharon - You're right, it is - and it's a good thing for us in Maryland real estate since we compete with Virginia for buyers who work in D.C. and could live either place.
Margaret, being a MD native this make me feel proud to hear.
We used to have the model for great public schools in California but our heavily one sided government has turned it into a shambles. Maybe they should give the schools the support they need and let the gov't officials have a bake sale to pay their salaries!
Hey Margaret! Wish we lived in Maryland!! When I clicked on the link above, I was required to register with the website. Would you mind telling me how TX did? I'm almost afraid to ask! :) Thank you!
Hi Margaret! Congratulations and may I say how very fortunate you are that you don't have to worry about the schools in your area! That is the #1 criteria for families moving to our area and selling in the areas without the top-ranking schools is becoming increasingly difficult--to the point that it makes it tough to say 'yes' to listings in those poorly ranked school areas. Now, the vast majority of them are well above national average but, those that aren't really pay the price when it comes to home appreciation.
Thanks for some great information and links. If I had children this would be something I definately would be interested in knowing. You do such a good job of offering quality information on your blog.
Ms. Woda,
As the owner of eSettle, llc, a local title company, and the father of a son who went through the AA Co. school system, I can only agree with you that Maryland has an OUTSTANDING and most of all CARING school system. Each parent-teacher meeting I attended, I was pleasantly met by an individual that only had my son's best scholastic and personal improvement interests at heart. They knew about my son and his goals, etc. This was unheard of in the D.C. school system that I attended "way back when" (No, I won't tell when).
Just to end, my son graduated grade school and East River High with an average in the low 90's in his grades. I can not see that being done in D.C. So, Kudos to the Maryland school system.
Kevin A. Stroud, eSettle, 410-956-7202
To answer your question, Sonia, Texas scored 77.1. Why don't you sign up (it's free) and get weekly updates. You'll find good blog topics in there that not everyone else is writing about. (Then you can see all the details of Texas' rating.