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Worst Place to be a Kid -- State Version
Ohanian Comment: Another interesting configuration on the chart that Bracey mentions is the fact that Of the ten lowest-scoring states in overall childhood vulnerability, 8 of them have exit exams for a high school diploma, and all are red states. It looks like corporate politicos substitute 'blame the schools' for taking steps to reduce childhood vulnerability. Of the top scoring states, just two have exit exams, with one "in progress."
If you want a copy of the chart, send me $2, and I'll send it to you.
susano@gmavt.net
Gerald Bracey
A little less than a year ago, I posted "Worst Place to Be a Kid." It described a UNICEF study of 21 industrialized nations. The U.S. was 20th. The U.K. got the honor of being 21st. We were dead last in poverty and, ironically, attained our best rank on provision of education (but, as someone said, we can't be #1 in test scores when we're last in poverty). There are, of course, variations among the states in how well they care for their children and the "Every Child Matters" organization has ranked the states on Overall Child Vulnerability.
The Overall index incorporated percent uninsured children, low birth weight rates, prenatal care, infant mortality rates, child deaths, teen deaths, child welfare spending, child fatalities, crime rates, incarceration rates, juvenile incarceration, teen births, child poverty, impact of taxes and transfers on child poverty, and overall tax burden. At the Web site, you can see a profile of each state on these variables. When combined into the Overall Index, though, the states stack up like this:
Top 25
1 New Hampshire
2 Vermont
3 Connecticut
4 Massachusetts
5 Maine
6 Minnesota
7 Washington
8 Iowa
9 Rhode Island
10 New Jersey
11 Wisconsin
12 Hawaii
13 New York
14 Utah
15 California
16 Oregon
17 North Dakota
18 Michigan
19 Nebraska
20 Kansas
21 Pennsylvania
22 Virginia
23 Idaho
24 Montana
25 Illinois
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Bottom 25
50 Mississippi
49 Louisiana
48 New Mexico
47 Oklahoma
46 Texas
45 South Carolina
44 Alabama
43 Arkansas
42 Georgia
41 Alaska
40 Arizona
39 Wyoming
38 North Carolina
37 West Virginia
36 Tennessee
35 Nevada
34 Florida
33 Kentucky
32 Colorado
31 South Dakota
30 Delaware
29 Indiana
28 Missouri
27 Maryland
26 Ohio
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Keep in mind that these are ranks, not scores. Ranks sometimes exaggerate differences and someone must rank last. In the final heat of the 100 meter dash at the Olympics, someone will rank last. He is still the 8th fastest human being on the planet that day.
A friend of mind noticed something interesting about the ranks and made a list color-coded in red or blue. Red states voted Republican in the 2004 presidential campaign, blue states Democratic. Of the bottom 25 states, only one, Delaware was a blue state. Eighteen of the top 25 states were blue states with only Iowa, Utah, Nebraska, North Dakota, Kansas, Virginia and Idaho falling into the Republican camp.
What we might be seeing here is a variation on what Rick Perlstein calls e. coli conservatism. If you don't spend enough money on your infrastructure and quality control and the care of your children, your bridges fall down, e.coli invades your spinach and beef, and children suffer a variety of afflictions.
— Gerald Bracey
Huffington Post
-01-22
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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