Mississippi Library Association

Mississippi Education in Perspective 2008-09

Morgan, Kathleen O. and Scott E. Morgan (eds). Mississippi Education in Perspective 2008-09.
Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2008.
25 pp. $25.00 (paperback)

Scott and Kathleen Morgan are the editors of Morgan Quitno’s annual state and city statistical reference books. They publish books on state rankings, state trends, health care state rankings, crime state rankings, city crime rankings, and education state rankings. The general state ranking books allow the reader to compare individual states in terms of education, health, crime, transportation, taxes, government finance, and other areas. The education books provide information about how each state compares with the other in terms of teachers’ salaries, reading and math scores, graduation rates, per pupil spending, special education, class size, and more.

Information contained in this volume represents the most recent data available and covers the areas of districts and facilities, finance, graduates and achievement, safety and discipline, special education, staff, and students. Sources of information are numerous and include the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation, College Board, National Center of Education Statistics, National Library of Education, National Education Association, and more. Tables are described, and a glossary is provided to explain terms used.

The book is bound with a simple coil and serves as more of an extended pamphlet than a bound book. While Morgan and Morgan attempt to present a vast amount of statistics in a descriptive and easy to approach manner, the amount of data is so large that it is not as easy to understand as one might anticipate. While the book can be criticized for its failure to provide a clear understanding of the overall picture, the data itself can be useful to teachers and others with an interest in education.

This book provides important data needed to understand the current state of education in Mississippi. As such, it is recommended for educators and anyone seeking to understand the latest statistics
related to education in Mississippi. This book is recommended for academic, public, and high school libraries, especially in Mississippi.

William L. Bahr
Assistant Director
Pike-Amite-Walthall Library System

Entry Filed under: Book Reviews
Posted on: March 31st, 2009