The 21st annual edition of _Quality Counts—Under Construction: Building on ESSA’s K-12 Foundation_—continues _Education Week_’s long-standing tradition of grading the states on their

performance. A state’s overall grade is the average of its scores on the three separate indices tracked by the report. STATE OVERVIEW This year, Massachusetts finishes first among the 50

states and the District of Columbia, with an overall score of 86.5 out of 100 points and a grade of B. The nation as a whole posts a grade of C. Diving into the findings for the three graded

indices, Massachusetts earns an A-minus in the Chance-for-Success category and ranks first. The average state earns a C-plus. In School Finance, Massachusetts receives a B and ranks tenth.

understand the role that education plays in promoting positive outcomes across an individual’s lifetime. Based on an original state-by-state analysis, this index combines information from 13

indicators that span a person’s life from cradle to career. Those indicators fall into three sub-sections: early foundations, school years, and adult outcomes. For early foundations, which

examines factors that help children get off to a good start, Massachusetts earns a grade of A-minus and ranks seventh. The average state posts a B-minus. Massachusetts receives an A-minus

for the school years, a sub-category focusing on metrics related to pre-k enrollment through postsecondary participation. It finishes first in the nation in this area. By comparison, the

nation as a whole earns a C. In the area of adult outcomes, based on postsecondary educational attainment and workforce indicators, Massachusetts’s grade is a B-plus. It ranks second in the

nation. The national average is a C-plus. SCHOOL FINANCE The school finance analysis examines two critical aspects of school spending. Of the eight indicators in this category, four assess

school spending patterns, while the remaining metrics gauge equity in the distribution of funding across the districts within each state. Across the spending indicators, Massachusetts

finishes with a letter grade of B compared with a national average of D. Massachusetts ranks 12th in the nation in this area. On the equity measures, Massachusetts’s grade is B-minus, which

places it 42nd in the national rankings. The nation as a whole earns a B. K-12 ACHIEVEMENT The K-12 Achievement Index examines 18 distinct achievement measures related to reading and math

performance, high school graduation rates, and the results of Advanced Placement exams. The index assigns equal weight to current levels of performance and changes over time. It also places

an emphasis on equity, by examining both poverty-based achievement gaps and progress in closing those gaps. The results of the K-12 Achievement Index reported here are from the _Quality

Counts 2016_ report and have not been updated. Indicators in the index can be broken down into three sub-categories: status, change, and equity. Measures in the status sub-category evaluate

a state’s current performance. Massachusetts receives an A in this area and ranks first in the nation. The average state earns a D. The change sub-category examines a state’s improvement

over time. In this area, Massachusetts posts a C-plus and ranks second. The national average is a D-plus. In the equity sub-section, states are graded based on achievement gaps between

low-income students and their more affluent peers. Massachusetts’s grade on those poverty-gap measures stands at a B-minus. Nationally, it ranks 34th in this area. The nation as a whole

receives a B. Massachusetts’s 2017 _Highlights Report_ includes summarized results based on each of the nearly-40 indicators that make up _Quality Counts_’ overall grading rubric. Tables

with the full results are available in PDF form below: - Grading Summary - Chance for Success - School Finance - K-12 Achievement View more 2017 reports on states and the nation >