This new report from NCTQ about state policies on teachers deserves attention for lots of reason (Daniela writes it up here.)
But what I found most interesting straight away was this simple map. In education (and unfortunately in many other areas, including obesity), when a map shows states below the Mason-Dixon line in a color different than the rest of the nation, it usually means the South is lagging behind. Indeed, Checker's old boss, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, once quipped that US student tests scores are positively correlated with proximity to the Canadian border.
But this??map flips that conventional wisdom on its head. The highest rated states are those in the Deep South (only Mississippi misses the mark).
Maybe this is because reform-minded southern governors in the 1980s and 1990s built a strong policy foundation or maybe it's the result of right-to-work policies (the overlap is striking). Whatever the cause, it's heartening to see these states--often chided for their back-of-the-pack status--leading the way.
--Andy Smarick