JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri's public schools are 41st in the country in Education Week's annual rankings.
The publication released its 2013 "Quality Counts" rankings Thursday. Missouri's overall grade was a C, up slightly from last year's grade of C minus.
Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said in a news release that she's pleased to see Missouri's grade inching higher. But she says the state must make greater strides in providing a quality education for all students.
The report examines a number of factors, including elementary reading scores, high school graduation rates, college completion rates and per-student education spending.
Maryland received the highest score in the survey, followed by Massachusetts, New York and Virginia.