Study Says Louisiana Has The 5th Worst School System In US
Adversity often shows the true colors of individuals, groups, and teams. The 2020 school year has already been full of adversity. Between COVID issues, funding issues, and the increasingly obvious technology issues Louisiana schools face, it's no wonder schools in the state are getting poor ratings for this year.
The personal finance website WalletHub has new research out ranking state-wide school systems against each other.
For their research, WalletHub put together a massive group of experts, including:
Alan J. Singer, Ph.D. – Professor of Teaching, Learning and Technology, Hofstra University
Kmt G. Shockley, Ph.D. – Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy, Howard University School of Education
Luis A. Rodriguez, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Education Leadership, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology, New York University
Christopher Redding, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership – University of Florida, College of Education
Through their research, they looked at all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, and ranked them based on multiple key metrics. They then rated the states in two major categories, which are each built by smaller sub-categories. The major two categories are "Opportunity & Competition" and "Academic & Work Environment".
When all the numbers were added up, Louisiana ranked as the fifth worst in the nation.
In the break out ratings, Louisiana was third worst in the country in "Opportunity & Competition", but was middle-of-the-pack in "Academic & Work Environment" where they rated 27 out of 51.
Some of the metrics the experts applied included Pupil-Teacher Ratio, Quality of School System, Teacher Income Growth Potential, and the 10-year Change in Teacher Salaries, among others. Here's how Louisiana ranked in those metrics, with ratings out of 51:
- 37th – Avg. Salary for Teachers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
- 50th – Quality of School System
- 45th – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
- 29th – Public-School Spending per Student
- 49th – Teachers’ Income Growth Potential
- 25th – Projected Competition in Year 2028
- 49th – 10-Year Change in Teacher Salaries