As this debate rages, there’s no question that school leaders still have to pay attention to key grade-level assessments and college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT.

A new analysis of SAT and ACT scores and fourth- and eighth-grade math and English assessments has led Forbes Advisor to rank all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on the results. Forbes also figured graduate-level MCAT scores into the rankings.

Read more: What the data says about superintendent turnover in 2023-24

Before we get to the full list, let’s dig a little deeper into a few states’ standardized test scores. The state with the highest average SAT score, North Dakota, only ranked No. 29 overall due to much lower levels of fourth- and eighth-grade achievement. High levels of proficiency in math and reading, on the other hand, landed New Jersey third on the list.

New Mexico, the state with the lowest average SAT score at 19, came in 50th—which is second to last on the overall rankings. Nevada, the state with the lowest ACT score at 17, placed 46th.

Here are each state’s average SAT and ACT scores, along with where each state ranks:

1. Massachusetts: 1112, 26
2. Utah: 1239, 20
3. New Jersey: 1066, 24
4. New Hampshire: 1035, 25
5. Connecticut: 1007, 26
6. Wisconsin: 1236, 19
7. Virginia: 1113, 25
8. Colorado: 996, 25
9. Nebraska: 1252, 19
10. Vermont: 1099, 24
11. South Dakota: 1208, 21
12. Minnesota: 1201, 21
13. Iowa: 1208, 21
14. Pennsylvania: 1078, 24
15. Washington: 1081, 25
16. Wyoming: 1200, 19
17. Ohio: 1044, 19
18. Indiana: 971, 23
19. Illinois: 970, 25
20. Michigan: 967, 24
21. Rhode Island: 958, 25
22. New York: 1039, 25
23. California: 1083, 26
24. Montana: 1193, 19
25. Maine: 1080, 25
26. Maryland: 1008, 25
27. Idaho: 970, 23
28. North Dakota: 1287, 20
29. Hawaii: 1114, 18
30. Florida: 966, 19
31. Missouri: 1191, 20
32. Kansas: 1245, 19
33. North Carolina: 1127, 19
34. Georgia: 1054, 21
35. Tennessee: 1191, 18
36. Oregon: 1125, 21
37. Kentucky: 1208, 19
38. Arizona: 1183, 18
39. Texas: 978, 19
40. Washington, D.C.: 969, 26
41. South Carolina: 1028, 19
42. Delaware: 958, 25
43. Alaska: 1082, 20
44. Arkansas: 1192, 19
45. Louisiana: 1194, 18
46. Nevada: 1166, 17
47. Mississippi: 1184, 18
48. Alabama: 1161, 18
49. West Virginia: 923, 20
50. New Mexico: 901, 20
51. Oklahoma: 953, 18

Dig into more data, including fourth- and eighth-grade proficiency rankings, on Forbes Advisor’s complete list.

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Nearly all of the 1,300-plus school meal program directors who responded to a School Nutrition Association survey report said they were grappling with increasing costs, with a large majority calling it “a significant challenge.” Many of these directors said they were worried they would not be able to procure foods that would meet stricter school nutrition guidelines expected to be released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April.

“Inadequate funds and overly restrictive rules will soon cripple school meal programs,” said Chris Derico, president of the School Nutrition Association. “We believe all students deserve equal access to nutritious meals at school, and in schools that must charge for meals, we see inequities for children as well as unpaid meal debt increasing financial losses.”

Read more from DA: Where is teacher confidence headed? New surveys provide insight 

The association is now urging Congress to increase school meal funding and preserve current nutrition standards.

School nutrition supply chain snags

Fewer than one in five of the nutrition directors surveyed said current reimbursement rates cover the costs of producing a school lunch. This funding gap also makes it harder for district nutrition programs to pay competitive wages in today’s tight labor market, which in turn hinders efforts to provide healthier meals by cooking dishes from scratch.

Another top challenge identified by a large majority of school nutrition leaders was a shortage of menu items that will likely get worse if new nutritional standards are implemented. Districts with the highest numbers of students eligible for free-and-reduced eligibility are also the most likely to report severe procurement difficulties.

“With a lack of any nutrition mandates for dining or retail foods, limited demand for low-sodium and whole-grain products in the retail market leaves many manufacturers and distributors hesitant to prepare and stock specialty items for K12 customers,” the report asserts.

Unpaid meal debt continues to be a financial hurdle in districts that can no longer serve universal free meals. The shift back to paid meals since the pandemic has led to consistent drops in student participation, in part because some families fail to submit applications.

On the other hand, schools that provide free meals to all students also report a more positive social-emotional cafeteria environment, reduced stigma for low-income students and increased operational efficiencies, the report contends.

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One glaring problem was a disproportionate suspension rate for students in certain ethnic groups. “It was heart-wrenching to hear that in a district that I love and consider my home—I’ve been here for 25 years—that in many ways [students] felt invisible,” Dent laments.

Compounding the challenge was that the district began its equity work at a time of heightened political divisiveness and resistance from some corners of the community to promoting inclusivity in all school operations. “We were making sure every student felt valued… by celebrating culture, by having different languages present, so students can walk down hallways and see themselves,” says Dent, Washington’s Superintendent of the Year for 2024.

More from DA: Districts charge into 2024 with a diverse group of new leaders

The results of these efforts were a drop in those problematic suspensions and a significant increase in graduation rates for Hispanic students.

Along the way, a new administrator was hired to ensure equal access for all learners and students formed the district’s first Black student union. The district’s school board, which was also recognized as tops in the state this year, has passed the first policy to explicitly prohibit racist behavior.

“It’s been exciting to see these students feel more empowered in their buildings, feel like they have a voice,” notes Dent, who has been Sumner-Bonney Lake’s leader since 2016. “It makes my heart so happy that students are coming together to share their experiences, and they feel safe doing it.

“We finally made it safe to talk about race in this district,” she adds.

Feeling safe, seeking help

Still, student mental health is one thing that keeps Dent up at night. She hopes Sumner-Bonney Lake is easing the challenge with its DEI work and by hiring more diverse staff members. Dent has placed five counselors at each high school and provided them with intensive training in trauma-informed practices.

She has also expanded teletherapy, hosted a mental health night specifically for student-athletes and their families, and hired a coordinator to oversee Sumner-Boney Lake’s whole-child initiatives. “When kids feel safe at school, they’re going to be more willing to reach out for help,” she attests.

Sumner-Bonney Lake’s students have been academically resilient, as evidenced by rising test scores. But from the pandemic to the constant thrum of social media to various external pressures, there appear to be many causes for the increased levels of anxiety and depression students are experiencing, Dent suspects.

“It’s kids feeling connected and forging that sense of connection again, even with relationships—like ‘It’s OK to look at somebody and talk to them, you don’t have to just text them,'” she concludes. “I don’t know what toll technology is taking on them.”

The post “It makes my heart happy”: Celebrating culture creates safe spaces appeared first on District Administration.

Dozens of school districts, bus companies and other entities will use their share of the EPA’s first Clean School Bus Program Grants to purchase 2,700 low- and zero-emission buses. About 280 school districts serving over 7 million students across 37 states will benefit from the initiative, which is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law, the EPA announced this week.

“We’re once again accelerating the transition to electric and low-emission school buses in America, helping to secure a healthier future where all our children can breathe cleaner air,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement. “I’ve sat next to students on their very first clean school bus ride and their excitement reflects the power of good policy.”

More from DA: How rebranding has this superintendent living in the moment—for now

Among the biggest award winners are Boston Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, the Dekalb County School District, Los Angeles USD and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which each received about $20 million to upgrade their bus fleets.

Asthma and other conditions exacerbated by diesel bus emissions cause students to miss school, a problem that disproportionately affects communities of color and Tribal communities, the EPA says. The agency initially made $400 million in grants available but doubled the amount because of districts’ heavy demand for electric and low-emission vehicles.

In 2022, the EPA awarded schools over $875 million in Clean School Bus Program rebates, which allowed 372 school districts to replace 2,366 vehicles. The agency is accepting applications for the 2023 clean bus rebate program until Jan. 31.

The post See which districts will share $1 billion in new clean school bus funding appeared first on District Administration.

The Educator Confidence Index as measured by publisher HMH sank to a historic low, from nearly 50% on the eve of the pandemic to 40% in 2022. That rebounded to 42% last year, according to the company’s annual Educator Confidence Report, which measures teachers’ perceptions of salaries, workload and well-being, and funding for classroom resources, among other factors.

About three-quarters of the teachers surveyed told HMH they had no plans to leave the profession, though some had not ruled it out. They also said seeing students grow and succeed was the biggest motivating factor in their jobs (aside from salaries.)

Teacher confidence sapped by politics

Meanwhile, a closer look at a series of recent surveys conducted by state education departments and unions shows that teachers and the districts that employ them continued to grapple with some considerable headwinds.

In Colorado, more than eight in 10 teachers said the intrusion of politics had dampened their morale while a third admitted that today’s political climate had driven them to alter their curriculum. “Due to the politicization of our schools, our educators have felt the need to censor themselves, which robs our students of the quality education that they deserve,” says the survey released last month by the Colorado Education Association. “We need to restore educator autonomy so that our educators are empowered to provide the best education possible for our students.”

Among the union’s goals for 2024 is to help pass legislation that will prevent book bans in Colorado schools and ensure students’ “freedom to read.”

Safety is also a significant concern. About one-third of the teachers reported being physically abused by a student in the past two years while a majority noted a deterioration in the mental health of both students and themselves.

More from DA: How rebranding has this superintendent living in the moment—for now

“Right now, we’re at the brink of a public education crisis,” the association’s president, Amie Baca-Oehlert, said in a statement. “We cannot expect our educators to remain underpaid, disrespected and unprotected and still show up to work day after day to educate our children. We are and will continue to lose quality educators to other states if this remains the case.”

9 in 10 teachers say …

More of Connecticut’s teachers—some 77%—were feeling frustrated and burned out in 2023, with nearly three-quarters telling the Connecticut Education Association they were increasingly likely to retire or leave the profession early. After stress and burnout, more than nine out of 10 Connecticut teachers reported having the following concerns:

1. School and classroom decisions made by politicians and non-educators
2. Staff shortages
3. A rising number of teachers leaving the profession
4. Lack of respect for educators
5. Declines in student mental health

Almost all of the teachers surveyed by Connecticut’s union listed the following solutions to burnout:

• More competitive salaries
• More planning and prep time
• Less non-teaching duties and paperwork
• More effective policies to address student behavior
• Smaller class sizes
• Appropriate mental health and behavioral support for students
• More teacher autonomy in instructional practices

“Political and personal attacks, toxic disrespect, and threats leveled at educators during school board meetings all contribute to the rapid pace of educators quitting the jobs they love,” the union’s president, Kate Dias, said in a statement.

Lack of applicants

Though not a direct measure of teacher confidence, recent data released by the Nebraska Department of Education show there were more unfilled teaching positions at the beginning of this school year compared to 2022-2023. There were about 140 more vacant positions reported by a smaller number of districts, according to Nebraska Public Media.

The top reasons for vacancies were a lack of applicants or a lack of qualified applicants, the department’s report explains. Special education had the most unfilled positions by far—more than double that of elementary education, the area with the second-higher number of vacancies.

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“By ensuring that AI literacy is at the heart of our digital literacy program, we’re ensuring that we can not only mitigate the risk of AI, but seize the opportunity it creates to help improve the way we learn and the way we work,” says Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware, who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D., an Indiana Republican.

The bill, which would amend the Digital Equity Act, defines AI literacy “as the skills associated with the ability to comprehend the basic principles, concept and applications of artificial intelligence, as well as the implications, limitations, and ethical considerations associated with artificial intelligence.”

A main goal of the bill is to help schools teach students to use the rapidly advancing technology safely and ethically.  Grants created by the proposal would help district leaders and other education organizations:

• Provide teachers with training and certification to drive AI literacy efforts in schools.
• Send teachers to courses, workshops and conferences related to artificial intelligence instruction and course design.
• Schools without resources for computer science education would get assistance in using best practices to develop and design AI course materials for computer science classes.
• Create partnerships with the private sector to expand AI education.
•  Build school labs that provide students with hands-on AI learning experiences.
•  Develop virtual learning platforms for remote and individualized AI instruction.

“Every administrator, teacher and student should know how to use AI and how AI works because when you understand the underlying fundamentals, you will be better able to use AI safely, effectively, and responsibly,” Pat Yongpradit, chief academic officer of Code.org, said in a statement.

More from DA: How rebranding has this superintendent living in the moment—for now

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“It feels like we are united as a community more so than we ever have been,” says Rodrequez, who has led the district for eight years and was named Missouri’s 2024 Superintendent of the Year. “It’s bringing us all together around a common purpose and a common understanding … in a way that maybe we didn’t have before.”

The school rebranding process began with “a lot of conversations with a lot of people,” he points out. From staff to families and beyond, stakeholders were asked about what distinguished Grandview C-4 schools and where the district was excelling.

More from DA: School-within-a-school uses PBL to help students make a big move

“There wasn’t a unified answer—everybody had different looks at it so it was hard for us to truly determine what our identity was,” he notes. “So we started talking to a lot of community members about how do we unite around a common purpose.”

One of the pillars that emerged, and became part of the district’s mission statement, was developing future-ready students. Previously, that focus did not extend beyond high school as other educators saw their role as moving students up to the next grade rather than preparing them for college and careers.

“This was something our community and teachers rallied around,” Rodrequez points out. “Preparing students for their future may just be kindergarten or first grade.”

Then there was the district’s family of mascots. While the high school and middle school communities knew themselves as the Grandview Bulldogs, the district’s five elementary schools had five different identities. Surprisingly, he adds, there was little pushback to changing everyone over to the Bulldogs, as evidenced by T-shirts, stickers and other enthusiasm students displayed once the shift was finalized.

“They didn’t see themselves as that other identity—’I don’t really see myself as a Meadowlark,'” he explains. “They could rally behind everybody being a Bulldog because that’s what they see themselves as in middle school and high school.”

School rebranding also jibed with the district’s wide-ranging construction projects, which were funded by Grandview’s largest-ever bond approval—$45 million—in 2021. It allowed to planners to use the same logo and color scheme as they built a new gymnasium and redesigned CTE facilities, cafeterias and band rooms. Finally, the reinvigorated spirit of unity has filtered into the classroom via a districtwide focus on literacy, which has driven three years of growth. The number of students reading on grade level has risen to over 60% from just under 30%.

Rodrequez says he is trying to savor the success as the construction projects—and the rebranding—are now largely completed. “You’re constantly looking three to four years down the road and hoping to get there,” he concludes. “I’m excited about the next phases but I’m still living in the moment of this; it’s a really great year to live through.”

The post How rebranding has this superintendent living in the moment—for now appeared first on District Administration.

The only restrictions are requirements on district size, demonstrated need, and the involvement of community partners, among other conditions, according to the school data tracking firm Burbio, which compiled the list. If you’re not teaching and learning in one of the following eight locations, know that your state may have similar programs:

• Small School District Modernization Grant: Available to Washington districts with fewer than 1,000 students or less and where property values are so low that replacing or modernizing school facilities with the state’s construction assistance program would be excessively burdensome on local property owners or would exceed district debt limits.
• Robotics Education Development Grants: New Hampshire districts that are partnering with a sponsor or business can request up to $15,000 to launch a robotics team.
• District-Wide Early Education Grant program: $3 million will be distributed to Alaska districts to create or expand pre-K programs. Low-performing districts and those not served by Head Start will be prioritized.
• Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: South Dakota districts with high absenteeism rates, a chronic absenteeism rate that has doubled since the pandemic, or attendance below 85% can seek up to $500,000 from this sub-grant.
• Supplemental Equipment Grants: Pennsylvania secondary schools and career and technical centers with established CTE programs are eligible to share $15 million to purchase classroom equipment.
• Olmstead Family and Community Engagement grants: Nonprofits serving students with disabilities in “historically underserved racial/ethnic communities or racial/ethnic communities” in Minnesota can partner with school districts on grants of up to $10,000.
• Specialized Secondary Programs Grant: California districts received $4.9 million to conduct in-depth studies of a core curriculum area that promotes technology skills.
• Hate Crime Prevention Round 2 Grant: Massachusetts districts that have experienced bias, that are chronically underperforming or that have partnered with a civil rights organization will be first in line for this funding, which requires a letter of support from the head of a local law enforcement agency.

More from DA: Districts charge into 2024 with a diverse group of new leaders

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Facing drops in enrollment year after year and significant infrastructure issues at many school buildings, Boston’s school system outlined its future in a new report that was released Wednesday.

The district has nearly 120 schools right now, but it’s possible that number could drop to as few as 59.

Read more from NBC Boston.

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“We had this hypothesis that we needed to do something different with our sixth graders,” says Smith, whose building is part of Orchard View Schools in Muskegon. “We wanted to tackle … how we can connect with our sixth graders in a way that better engages them in school and community. How do we engage them so that they’re having an authentic experience and they’re enjoying their learning?”

Orchard View Middle partnered with the Human Restoration Project, a child development nonprofit, to conduct focus groups in which students were asked what would make them feel a stronger sense of belonging at school and how they could get the most out of their learning. The program that emerged paired a cohort of sixth graders with a team of four teachers who now provide interdisciplinary projected-based learning.

More from DA: Experts list 6 things that will strengthen school climate in 2024

To be able to kick the program off at the beginning of this school year, Smith sought teachers who were excited about the experiment and, with more help from the Human Restoration Project, provided professional development and time to plan the curriculum over the summer of 2023.

Smith and his team have secured a five-year, $4-million federal EIR grant, which will also University of Virginia researchers to track how the school assesses progress based on student  portfolios, which the school is calling “learning journeys.” The grant will fund field trips and provide each cohort with $12,500 for supplies.

“The biggest challenge for PBL is the cost,” Smith adds. “We want these to be authentic experiences. We want the kids rolling their sleeves up and working together and bring ‘courageous collaborators.'”

Cooking with core subjects

Each project students work on will combine the four core subjects: English language arts, math, science and social studies. The first project, which students completed this fall, focused on healthy living and eating and included field trips to urban farms and a culinary arts program at nearby Baker College. The students created healthy eating infomercials and posters to spread the word about their learning and spent plenty of time in the kitchen.

“While they’re cooking, they’re doing the math and their science and their ELA,” Smith notes. “They’re doing all of the subjects while they’re exploring and they have their learning journey at the very end.”

An upcoming group project will task students with designing a school kitchen with a $125,000 grant from Orchard View’s food service provider. Among the already visible outcomes of the school-within-a-school is an improving learning environment in a county that grapples with chronic absenteeism due to a large transient population, Smith attests.

Sixth-grader teachers have also made fewer office referrals for disruptive behavior this school year. “We’re seeing higher engagement and less discipline,” he says. “We’re going to focus on building that community and creating experiences so kids want to come to school and value coming to school,” Smith explains. “I don’t want them to feel like they’re just coming in and going through the motions.”

The PBL school-within-a-school has the full support of Orchard View Superintendent Jim Nielsen. “We’re recognizing students don’t necessarily learn all the same way and they certainly are not learning the way they did 20 or 30 years ago,” Nielsen concludes. “When you look around education, one of the biggest issues we have is we’re still doing things the way we did 20 or 30 years ago.”

District Administration’s Superintendent’s Playbook series examines how superintendents, principals and other administrators are solving common problems that today’s educators are facing.

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