CER Press Release
Washington, DC
September 4, 2013
Indiana continues to rank number one in the country in meeting 21st century education needs and parent demands, according to the second annual Parent Power Index™ (PPI) released today by The Center for Education Reform (CER), the nation’s leading advocate for lasting, substantive and structural education reform in the US.
Indiana stands out for the foresight and practicality of its laws and regulations related to education reform, in stark contrast to most states which afford parents very little power and opportunity to get the best education possible for their child.
“Standards should not only apply to what happens in schools but to what happens in state legislative bodies and executive branches,” said CER President and Founder Jeanne Allen. “The bar needs to be high for lawmaking and rulemaking, and Indiana again surpasses that bar by demonstrating that policymakers know how their actions affect parents and students.”
Indiana’s score of 87 on its PPI leads a pack of five states with scores above 80. The median score of 66.2 (held by Texas) shows just how poorly most states have implemented policies to provide opportunities to access and find information about quality teaching and learning.
The PPI is an interactive, web-based tool based on CER’s evaluation of qualitative and proven state policies. States such as Indiana that ranked the highest give parents more opportunity to be engaged directly in the education of their children who have access to more and better learning opportunities.
A look at the education scorecard of the Parent Power Index™ reveals several improved rankings but also many states that have remained stagnant. The best, most promising and the worst states are highlighted in a brief Back to School report. The full state-by-state details, including Index methodology can be found at https://edreform.com/in-the-states/parent-power-index/.