A C means average, that you're doing just as well as or better than most people in the class. At least, that's what many students say while trying to convince their parents that their report card isn't really as bad as it seems.

But when the country as a whole gets a C, that indicates a problem. And that's exactly what has happened. Education Week recently published its 19th edition of Quality Counts, a report card for the nation. The report gives U.S. schools a grade of C with a score of 74.3, officially marking the United States average.

Education Week ranks every state's school systems based on three factors: Chance for Success, K-12 Achievement, and School Finances. Chance for Success follows student's educational opportunities "from cradle to career," K-12 Achievement evaluates schools based on 18 indicators including improvements over time and poverty-based disparities and School Finances examines how states distribute education funds. Despite the nation's dismal grade, parents (and students) in Massachusetts can count themselves lucky. Massachusetts schools were ranked as the best in the nation with an overall score of 86.2.

Massachusetts consistently finishes in the top five best school systems, according to the report. Quality Counts links Massachusetts's high performance with the relative wealthiness of the state overall. "We're not talking about demography as destiny," Sterling Lloyd, senior research associate at the Education Week Research Center, told USA Today. However, "research tells us that students who are in stable communities and in higher income families [tend to] have better educational success later on."

Massachusetts's scores reflect that as well. The state got an A- for Chance for Success, meaning Massachusetts students are more likely to have a fulfilling career than students in other states.

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