ECS
2013 State of the State Address
Education-Related Proposals
Maryland


Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes education-related proposals from the 2013 state of the state address. To assure that this information reaches you in a timely manner, minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) or format.

Governor Martin O'Malley's State of the State Address

PROPOSALS

Economy
-- Increase jobs in education by 114,000.

Finance
-- Invest to improve public education

Finance - Buildings
-- Invest to build new schools. 

Postsecondary Access
-- Offer early access to affordable college credit by letting motivated high schools students work toward both their two-year Associates Degree and their high school diploma – at the same time.  

Postsecondary - Community Colleges
-- Increase funding for community colleges

Postsecondary - Completion
-- Redesign college curricula and courses to better promote completion. 
-- Move the system toward rewarding a student's competency, and not merely the years he or she spends sitting in a lecture hall.   
-- Rework financial aid so that more students can afford to carry full course loads to complete their degrees on or ahead of time. 
-- Give students more on-line options for earning college credit.

Postsecondary Finance - Tuition
-- Continue to hold down the cost of college tuition.

School Safety
-- Invest in security upgrades in our schools.

Technology
-- Invest in iPads, laptops, smart-boards, and 21st century digital learning tools. 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

General
-- Remained #1 in education (best public schools in America) five years in a row.  
-- Record high student achievement. 
-- Record high graduation rates. 
-- Significantly closed the achievement gaps between white and non-white students.  
-- Achieved highest Advanced Placement scores in science, technology, engineering, and math MD students have ever achieved. 
-- Have the best overall AP scores of any state in the nation.

Postsecondary Finance - Tuition
-- Remained #1 in holding down the cost of college tuition.  

Full Text: http://www.governor.maryland.gov/blog/?p=8075