(The Center Square) – Michigan ranked 27th nationally in a new report from The Heritage Foundation on “education freedom.”
The state’s ranking on education choice brought its score down significantly, coming in at 41 nationally.
According to Jonathan Butcher, the conservative think tank’s acting director at its Center for Education Policy, the low ranking is due to the “state’s restrictive constitution.”
“Without an effort to remove the state’s Blaine Amendment, school choice will be out of reach,” Butcher told The Center Square in an exclusive interview.
The report card also considered transparency, teacher freedom, return on investment, and civic education.
“The state does well in transparency and teacher freedom by our measure but ranks 36 for return on investment—which means taxpayers are spending a lot for small changes in student achievement on the Nation’s Report Card,” Butcher said.
Across the categories, Michigan ranked:
• 41 in education choice
• 14 in transparency
• 16 in teacher freedom
• 36 in return on investment
• 23 on civic education
For the fifth year in a row, Florida topped the rankings.
“The state’s expansive – and inclusive – school choice options, along with strong civics content and curriculum transparency policies keep this state in the lead,” Butcher said.
Florida was followed by Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, and Iowa in the top five.
“Arizona ranks first in teacher freedom for its policies that empower professionals to enter the teacher workforce,” Butcher said. “Louisiana ranks first in civic education having updated its social studies standards several years ago with rigorous content.”
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Maine ranked at the bottom, scoring consistently low across all five categories.
Butcher argued that broad access to education savings accounts is becoming an increasingly important measure of education freedom, especially when it comes to school choice.
“To be considered a state that gives families and students quality learning options, it’s not enough to have small, narrowly-focused private school choice options,” he said. “Eighteen states allow every child within the state’s borders to apply for an education savings account—every child. This is the new measure of success for state policymakers.”
The Heritage Foundation hopes, particularly those that scored poorly, will view the report as a sign of the need for urgent policy changes.
“Lawmakers must put a renewed focus on civics instruction,” Butcher said in the report.
Michigan’s education system has been struggling for years, even as spending per student has increased. In early September, The Center Square reported on student test results dropping to new lows.
This post was originally published on The Center Square.