Year In Review: Top 12 Most Popular Posts of 2012

Kyle Stokes & Elle Moxley / StateImpact Indiana

Democratic state superintendent candidate Glenda Ritz, left, unseated Republican incumbent Tony Bennett on Nov. 6.

No surprises here: Democratic Superintendent-elect Glenda Ritz’s upset victory over Tony Bennett in the November election generated some of the most popular posts of 2012.

But Gov. Mitch Daniels’ move to Purdue, growing educator discontent and Indiana’s A-F accountability system also made the list.

As we look back, we’re curious about what StateImpact coverage you found most valuable in 2012. Leave us a comment, connect with us on social media or send us an email letting us know what you think of this list — and how we can do better in the new year.

1. 

   Jimmy Jenkins / Indiana Public Media

   Superintendent-elect Glenda Ritz.

   What Glenda Ritz’s Victory Over Tony Bennett Means For Indiana Schools — “Ritz may have won the ‘referendum’ on the direction of Indiana education policy, but it’s still far from clear the degree to which Ritz will be able to alter the course of Bennett’s policies. After all, unlike Bennett, she will not work with a governor and statehouse leaders from her own party.”

2. Poll: Tony Bennett Leads Glenda Ritz By Four, Many Voters Remain Undecided — “Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed by the Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll — the first independent survey to publish numbers on the race — remain undecided with four days remaining until Election Day.”
3. Why So Many More Teachers Hate Their Jobs Now — “Those who conducted the survey also say the teachers who aren’t satisfied with their jobs are more likely to feel their professional expertise is not respected in the community.”
4. 

   Kyle Stokes / StateImpact Indiana

   Graduates of Indiana University.

   Interactive Map: Where Are All Of The Graduates Going? Brain Drain In Indiana — “One in three graduates from Indiana’s public colleges left the state — and the ones with the most advanced degrees were the most likely to leave — according to a study from Indiana University and the Indiana Workforce Intelligence System. The report tracked the payroll records of students who graduated in 2000 with various levels of education to determine what percent remained in the state after five years in the workforce.”

5. Map: How Tony Bennett Lost Indiana — “The storyline of Tuesday night was of a mass teacher uprising allowing Democrat Glenda Ritz to topple GOP state superintendent Tony Bennett. Electorally, Bennett’s share of the vote slipped significantly from 2008 in several key counties where other Republicans (Romney, Pence, Mourdock) won.”
6. Between Bennett & Ritz, Stark Contrasts Define State Superintendent’s Race — “Seventy-one percent of Indiana students passed both the math and English language arts ISTEP tests last spring. Scores are up eight points since Bennett took office in 2009. It’s good news — unless you don’t think the state’s standardized tests are a good measure of student performance.”
7. 

   Steven Yang / Purdue University

   Gov. Mitch Daniels, soon to be Purdue's 12th president.

   ‘Uniquely Qualified’ Or Not Qualified Enough? What They’re Saying About Mitch Daniels’ Move To Purdue — “[Indiana Sen. Dan] Coats joined a number of Indiana political leaders in lauding the move, saying Daniels was “uniquely qualified” to lead the school. Others, however, called the move inappropriate for a sitting governor, pointing out Daniels was responsible for the appointment of many of the Purdue Trustees who made the presidential pick.”

8. Indiana’s 2012 A-F School Ratings Released: Find Your School’s Grade Here — “The formula still uses results of statewide tests — the ISTEP+ in elementary and middle school or the End-of-Course Assessments (ECAs) in high school — to compute the ratings. But state officials say the new model places more emphasis on individual students’ academic growth, rewarding schools who are helping students make greater gains but penalizing schools where students are stagnating or declining.”
9. How Much The College Loan Interest Rate Hike Would Cost You — “But crunching the numbers for a New York Times editorial, Mark Kantrowitz and Lynn O’Shaughnessy say that savings number is closer to $761 for the average borrower. Stretching that out over the life of a ten-year loan, that means borrowers save how much on a monthly payment? ‘$6 a month extra for one year of loans’ on average, they write.”
10. 

    Elle Moxley / StateImpact Indiana

    Glenda Ritz at an election forum.

    Bennett & Ritz Outline Two Very Different Paths For Indiana Education During Debate — “After Ritz asked what the Department of Education was doing to attract more minority students to the teaching profession, Bennett conceded that he sees more African American young people go into business or industry than education. But he maintained that hiring teachers with diverse backgrounds — including those who didn’t study education — was key.”

11. Why One IPS Teacher Says She’s Voting For Tony Bennett — “Tammy Laughner says she plans to vote for Republican incumbent Tony Bennett because she supports the changes he’s made to Indiana schools in the last four years. Her ballot counters the narrative that Bennett’s challenger, Democrat Glenda Ritz, has crafted as local teachers unions have mobilized to support her — educators also plan to go to the polls for Bennett, Laughner says.”
12. A Closer Look At The Poll Showing A Tight Bennett-Ritz Race — “Here at StateImpact, we try not to obsess about political horseraces — we are policy people at heart. But grant us this digression, because a recent poll shows the race between state superintendent Tony Bennett and his electoral challenger Glenda Ritz could be much tighter than many had anticipated.”