Oklahoma Schools: Better Than Ok!

Summary: Students reap many benefits from Oklahoma Schools. According to the 2002-2004 Census, there are 1,816 schools, 619,226 students, and 38,983 teachers. With a 16:1 ratio of students to teachers, it's no wonder that things are more than OK for Oklahoma Schools' students. The dropout rate for Oklahoma Schools is a low 3.2% and the state boasts high success for its students on assessment tests. Oklahoma also offers a unique program that addresses an issue on the minds of most of...

Students reap many benefits from Oklahoma Schools. According to the 2002-2004 Census, there are 1,816 schools, 619,226 students, and 38,983 teachers. With a 16:1 ratio of students to teachers, it's no wonder that things are more than OK for Oklahoma Schools' students. The dropout rate for Oklahoma Schools is a low 3.2% and the state boasts high success for its students on assessment tests. Oklahoma also offers a unique program that addresses an issue on the minds of most of the nation: childhood obesity. This program is called the Farm-to-School program. The Education Oversight Board for Oklahoma Schools reports that many schools successfully reached the boards Benchmark of 70% on standardized tests for the '04-'05 school year. In total that year, the EOB recognized 688 Elementary Schools for 4th grade results, 404 for 5th grade results, 476 K-8 Elementary, Middle, and Junior High schools for 7th grade results, and 176 of the same types of schools for performance on the 8th grade tests. The board reserved its highest accolades for the 40 Elementary and 2 Middle Oklahoma Schools that have reached this benchmark for each of the past five years. On the other hand, the Office of Accountability, which also evaluates Oklahoma Schools, states, "