Maryland tops in public schools? Depends on what's being graded.

Much of the basis for Maryland's No. 1 rank rests in a score of a B+, graded on a curve in a national education magazine. By other measures, including raising test scores in failing schools, it's in the middle of the pack. On a closely watched eighth-grade math score, Maryland ranks last among the 50 states.

With the economy robbing incumbents of applause lines, O'Malley (D) has increasingly focused on schools. "We're at the top of the nation," he said Wednesday at an event at Oxon Hill High School in Prince George's.