A new report card published by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), comparing Florida to fellow mega-state Illinois, finds that when it comes to education, size doesn't matter, at least not as far as spending is concerned.
The report card compares the two states' educational system according to various criteria, and finds Florida winning out over its much more Democrat-heavy, high-spending, and big-government counterpart on almost every measure. (Florida spends about $9,000 per K-12 student, while Illinois spends about $12,000.)
Our education system is making tremendous gains and the nation is taking notice, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement announcing the report card. We are building on this progress by investing $1 billion more in our K-12 education system in this budget, which includes a $2,500 pay raise for all full-time teachers.
Among the data release by the FLDOE:
-- Florida scores a "B-" in the StudentsFirst's 2013 State Policy Report Card, while Illinois follows landing a "D." The categories examined by StudentsFirst are Elevating Teachers, Empowering Parents, and Spend Wisely and Govern Well.
-- Florida scores much higher than Illinois in high school graduate participation in Advanced Placement exams, performance on those exams, and positive change in performance since 2002.
-- Florida has seen greater positive changes than Illinois in fourth-grade and eighth-grade scores on tests administrated by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
-- Florida received higher marks than Illinois in Education Week's 2013 Quality Counts report, which examined schools' social and disciplinary atmospheres and their impact on learning.
-- The National Council on Teacher Quality gives Florida significantly higher marks for teacher-preparedness.
-- Florida's high-school graduates are more likely to go to college.
-- Florida's four-year public college graduation rate is nearly identical to Illinois', but Florida spends about half as much per pupil and charges about half as much for in-state tuition.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
