Study: Ohio not one of the #039;smartest#039; states

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 3, 2002

Ohio is the 41st "smartest" in the nation, according to a study released by an independent research and publishing company.

The Lawrence, Kan.-based Morgan Quitno Press evaluated all 50 states based on 21 factors such as money spent on instruction, safety, student proficiency and teacher salaries.

Connecticut, which ranked first on the survey, was given the "2002 Smartest State Award."

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To determine these rankings, the 21 factors were divided into two groups -- those that are "positive," meaning that a high ranking would be good for a state, and "negative," ones that would mean the opposite. Rates for each of the factors were processed through a formula that measures how the state compares to the national average in a given category. The positive and negative nature of each factor was taken into account as part of the formula.

Those factors were then added to give a state its final score.

Ohio's score was -7.41.

The lowest-ranked state in this study was New Mexico, with a rating of -25.92.

Despite an overall ranking of 41st, Ohio received high marks in some areas such as:

-- Ninth in percentage of public school eighth-graders who are proficient or better in math and 11th for fourth-grade students.

-- Fourteenth in average salary of public classroom teachers.

-- Forty-fourth in percentage of high school teachers who said physical conflicts among students were serious problems at their schools.

-- Forty-sixth in percentage of school staff who are also administrators.

-- Forty-third in elementary school class size and 30th in secondary school class size.

Nevertheless, other factors resulted in the state's low score:

-- Forty-fifth in percentage of expenditures used for instruction.

-- Forty-seventh in percentage of public school teachers who received training on how to teach IEP students.

-- Ninth in percentage of teachers who reported being physically attacked in the last 12 months.

Harold Shafer, county superintendent of schools, said some of Ohio's rankings are not reflective of Lawrence County.

"Lawrence County should not be labeled with parts of this study," he said. "We do quite well when compared to other areas of the state."

Building construction throughout the state could have resulted in the lower percentage of money spent for instruction, he said.

Also, Shafer stated that teachers in this county are well-trained in teaching IEP students.

"Statewide it may be a problem, but here that's not the case," he said. "We have extensive training, and it's done all the time every day."

Teachers being physically attacked is a relatively foreign concept, he added. In Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and other inner-city areas, it may be, but not in Lawrence County.

However, Shafer said the positive areas of the survey are evident here.

"When proficiency tests began, no one scored very high," he said. "Now, all of our districts are above the state average. Fairland is in the top 10 percent and the others are close to it."

The low percentage of administrators is a result of school districts being financially unable to hire many, Shafer said.

Despite financial status, education in Lawrence County seems to be a high priority, he said.

"We're in the bottom 10 percent in the state financially, but we're in the top 25 percent academically," Shafer said. "We have highly dedicated teachers, administrators and school boards that work hard to provide a good education for students."