Education Week, a national education newspaper that has given Maryland schools the top mark for the past five years, has stopped ranking the states in its annual Quality Counts report.

Maryland's superintendent of schools has no plans to take down dozens of signs in the windows of her agency's headquarters that proclaim Maryland No. 1 in education. Likewise, Gov. Martin O'Malley is unlikely to stop bragging that Maryland is No. 1 in the nation, a point he made again Wednesday on Twitter.

But technically, Maryland cannot claim that distinction anymore. Education Week, a national education newspaper that has given Maryland schools the top mark for the past five years, has stopped ranking the states in its annual Quality Counts report. It was considered the most comprehensive ranking of the nation's schools.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/blog/bs-md-number-one-ranking-20140108,0,2900778.story#ixzz3CGNlWxLH

National History Day Coming Up!

The Parents Coalition is a proud supporter of National History Day (NHD), which is organized here in Montgomery County each year by the Montgomery County Historical Society. Teachers, schools and our children throughout the county participate.


The first-ever evaluation of National History Day shows that students that participate in the National History Day Curriculum:

outperform their non-NHD peers on state standardized tests, not only in social studies, but in reading, science and math as well.


are better writers, who write with a purpose and real voice, and marshal solid evidence to support their point of view.


are critical thinkers who can digest, analyze and synthesize information.


learn 21st century skills. They learn how to collaborate with team members, talk to experts, manage their time and persevere.

NHD has a positive impact among students whose interests in academic subjects may wane in high school.

The conclusions were reported in Education Week by reporter Erik Robelen. Read the full report here.

This year the theme is, ‘Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures and Consequences.’ The Parents Coalition encourages all the children in our county to get involved and submit a project. To read the rules go here.  To read about this year's theme, go here.