Blast from the Past: Northwords November 2001

 Blast from the Past #1
Northwords, November 2001
​
Maine was rated number 1 in the nation–the highest performing K-12 education system–by the National Education Goals Panel (1999), an independent, bipartisan agency of state and federal officials charged with measuring goals for student readiness, student achievement, educational attainment, and school climate. The 1999 report, issued on the tenth anniversary of the Charlottesville, VA, gathering of America’s governor’s then-President Bush ranked Maine a high-performing state across the eight goals after examining the state’s performance on a host of indicators.

Although Maine students score at or near the top of the nation in Mathematics, Reading, and Science, the statistics are deceiving. One out of four Maine students has not acquired a level of literacy that is acceptable by most standards. We outperform other states. We need to refocus our comparison, elevate our expectations, and benchmark the performance of Maine students against our international competitors. With Maine’s Learning Results as the foundations for improvement, and high expectations and aspirations shaping our mission, we intend to have a public education system of world class quality.

Our Analysis of this Blast from the Past
This first blast is interesting in light of the 2004 US News & World Report article placing Maine  43rd in the country for education, down from 34th in 2023. Of course, 50% of their criteria is based on a school offering numerous AP and IB classes and the number of kids who score well. It is one measure, but not the only measure of a successful education. On the other hand, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act established eight national education goals to be achieved by the year 2000: 

• School readiness: All children would be ready to learn when they start school. 
• School completion: The high school graduation rate would increase to at least 90%. 
• Student achievement and citizenship: Students would demonstrate competency in challenging subjects, including English, math, science, foreign languages, civics, economics, arts, history, and geography. 
• Teacher education and professional development: Teachers would have access to programs to improve their skills and prepare students for the future. 
• Mathematics and science: U.S. students would be the world's leaders in science and mathematics. 
• Adult literacy and lifelong learning: All adults would be literate. 
• Safe, disciplined, and alcohol- and drug-free schools: Schools would be free of drugs, violence, and unauthorized firearms and alcohol. 
• Parental participation: Schools would partner with parents to provide for the whole child. 

This is a much broader scale and is the criteria used by the National Education Goals Panel that ranked Maine 1st in 2001. It was discontinued when No Child Left Behind became law in 2002.