As a state and as a country, we should focus on identifying and quantifying root causes of poor reading outcomes and be transparent about what the data reveal.

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. U.S. News & World Report recently issued its latest “Best States” rankings, and Indiana comes in at #33. Of the eight categories measured to calculate this ranking, Indiana’s outcomes in Health Care (#40) and Quality of Life (#48) are the biggest drag on our state’s performance. When it comes to assessing our public health outcomes, Indiana fares worst on the following key metrics: infant mortality (#42), smoking (#41) and obesity (#40). A closer look at the infant mortality rate shows that key drivers of infant mortality – defined as the death of a child under one year […]