StudentsFirst grades States: Georgia and Massachusetts get D+

Did you ever think you'd see the day when the shining beacon on a hill, Massachusetts, would get a state education ranking equal to that of Georgia???  I didn't.

Well, this is what StudentsFirst is proclaiming with its new State Policy Report Card.  If I list out all the states in which I've gone to school, worked, or otherwise have a remarkable connection to, here's what I find:

• Georgia, D+
• Massachusetts, D+
• Virginia, D-
• Mississippi, D
• Michigan, C-
• Florida, B-
• District of Columbia, C+

More after the break...

Member of the Tea Party wave now House Chair of K-12 Education subcommittee

In 2010, the Tea Party ushered in a number of Representative to the U.S. House.  One of them was Mr. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.).  Now, I must admit, I need to begin my homework on this man.  So far, I've just done preliminary searches and uncovered what Education Week has to say about him (like that he wanted to reduce the number of federal employees in the U.S. Department of Education) and what he says about himself (like being the former secretary of state for Indiana and working as a pro-business, health care consultant).

What I care about is that the 113 Congress House Education and Workforce Committee has appointed him subcommittee chair for K-12 matters, named the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.  And from just this one snippet he supplied:

“As a parent of two young boys myself, I know firsthand how important our education system is. I look forward to working with Chairman Kline, ranking member Miller and my other fellow members of the committee to advance key reforms in the next Congress”  -- Mr. Rokita.

I'm getting a headache. 

More after the break...