Dive Summary:

• Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst education advocacy group gave ‘F’ grades to school systems in 11 states on its ‘report card’ issued Monday, which Rhee said in a statement focuses on the education policies each state has in place.
• Critics of the ratings say they reflect the views of Rhee, a former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor, more than the state of the nation’s schools, as California, for example, received its only high mark for being the birthplace of “parent trigger” laws.
• The report card’s top-rated states were Louisiana and Florida—both of which received a ‘B-‘—and California’s Department of Education shrugged off the state’s ‘F’ rating, with Deputy Supt. Richard Zeiger telling the New York Times that the state’s 41st place position on Rhee’s list is a “badge of honor.”

From the article:

California is sorely lacking when it comes to school reform, failing to adopt policies to limit teacher tenure and use student test scores in teacher evaluations, according to a rating of states issued Monday by a high-profile education advocacy group. California received an overall grade of F, ranking 41st nationally, from StudentsFirst, a Sacramento-based group run by Michelle Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington, D.C., whose outspoken views have polarized those who share her focus on improving the nation's schools. ...