Usually, schools do the grading, but a new WalletHub study put public school systems nationwide to the test.
To determine the states with the best and worst school systems, WalletHub evaluated public school systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 32 weighted metrics falling into two categories: quality, which accounted for 80% of the overall score, and safety, which accounted for 20%.
Factors such as graduation rates, standardized test scores, and pupil-teacher ratios were examined to determine the quality rank. For the safety rank, WalletHub looked at statistics regarding rates of drug use, bullying, school shootings, and disciplinary incidents.
The analysis used data from sources including the US Census Bureau, the Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US News & World Report, and the College Board.
Here’s how every state’s public school system ranked, from worst to best.
51. New Mexico
New Mexico has the lowest math and reading scores, as well as the lowest median SAT scores, in the WalletHub study.
50. Alaska
Alaska is tied with Washington for the fifth-highest public school dropout rate among US states, per the WalletHub study. The state also has the lowest four-year high school graduation rate, Business Insider previously found.
WalletHub reported Alaska also has the second-lowest reading and math test scores, the fourth-lowest student-to-teacher ratio, and the highest bullying incidence rate.
49. Oklahoma
Oklahoma has the fourth-highest dropout rate, the fourth-lowest reading test scores, and is tied with Nevada for the lowest median ACT score in the WalletHub study.
48. Oregon
Oregon ranked 47th in the study’s quality rank and 45th in the safety rank.
47. West Virginia
West Virginia is tied with New Hampshire and Alabama for the fourth-lowest dropout rates, although its math test scores are the fourth-lowest in the nation; its reading scores rank third-lowest; and its median SAT score is the second-lowest in the country. Bullying incidents in the state are the second-highest in the study.
46. Arizona
Arizona tied with Oklahoma and Nevada for the lowest median ACT scores in the WalletHub study.
45. Nevada
Nevada tied with Oklahoma and Arizona for the lowest median ACT score, and also had the third-lowest pupil-teacher ratio.
44. Louisiana
Louisiana had the highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students in the WalletHub study. The state also ranked with Mississippi and North Carolina for the fourth-lowest median ACT score.
43. Alabama
While Alabama is tied with New Hampshire and West Virginia for the fourth-lowest dropout rate in the WalletHub study, the state also ranked third-highest in the percentage of threatened or injured high school students.
42. Hawaii
Hawaii has the third-lowest bullying incidence rate in the US.
41. Missouri
Missouri ranked 36th in the WalletHub study’s quality category and last in its safety category. In Business Insider’s ranking of high school graduation rates, the state fared better, ranking 10th highest among all states.
40. Idaho
Idaho has the second-highest dropout rate in the WalletHub study, and is tied with Texas for the fifth-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students.
39. Arkansas
Arkansas ranked 37th in the study’s safety rank and 39th in the quality rank.
38. South Carolina
South Carolina ranked 30th in the study’s safety ranking and 41st on the quality rank.
37. Mississippi
Despite being tied with New Jersey for the lowest dropout rate in the study, Mississippi also tied with Louisiana and North Carolina for the fourth-lowest median ACT score and the second-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students.
36. Ohio
Ohio ranked 33rd in the study’s safety ranking and 38th in the quality ranking.
35. Kansas
Kansas tied with Wisconsin for the fourth-highest median SAT score but also had the fourth-highest percentage of high school students who were threatened or injured.
34. Georgia
Georgia ranked 35th in the study’s quality rank and 42nd in the safety rank.
33. Michigan
Michigan ranked 24th in the study’s safety ranking but 37th in the quality ranking.
32. Texas
Texas tied with Idaho for the fifth-highest percentage of threatened or injured high school students in the WalletHub study.
31. California
California tied with Massachusetts for the third-highest median ACT score and the second-lowest percentage of threatened or injured high school students, but also had the worst pupil-teacher ratio out of all states and Washington, DC.
30. District of Columbia
The District of Columbia had the lowest bullying incidence rate, the highest median ACT score, and the second-highest pupil-teacher ratio, but also had the fourth-lowest median SAT score, third-lowest math test scores, and the highest dropout rate in the WalletHub study.
29. North Carolina
North Carolina had the third-lowest percentage of threatened or injured high school students, per the WalletHub study.
28. Washington
Washington is tied with Alaska for the fifth-highest dropout rate in the US.
27. Colorado
Colorado has the third-highest reading test scores in the US, according to the WalletHub study.
26. South Dakota
South Dakota ranked 23rd in the WalletHub study’s safety rank.
25. Montana
Montana’s public school system ranked 20th in quality and 29th in safety.
24. Illinois
In Illinois, the state’s public school system ranked 19th in quality and 28th in safety nationwide.
23. Minnesota
Minnesota’s public school system ranked 18th in quality, with fourth and eighth-graders scoring the third-highest in math. It ranked 32nd in safety.
22. Tennessee
Tennessee’s public schools placed 12th in quality and 44th in safety, according to WalletHub’s ranking.
21. Iowa
Iowa’s public school system earned the highest median SAT scores of any state, contributing to its ranking of 23rd in quality overall. It ranked 22nd in safety, with the fifth-highest bullying incidence rate.
20. Wyoming
The public school system in Wyoming ranked 15th in quality and 31st in safety, with the fourth-highest bullying incidence rate of any state.
19. Utah
Utah’s school system ranked second-highest in math, contributing to its overall quality ranking of 22nd. The study found it has the second-worst pupil-teacher ratio, and its safety ranking was 16th.
18. Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s public school system was ranked 13th in quality and 27th in safety.
17. Kentucky
Kentucky’s public school system was ranked 21st in quality and 12th in safety. The state had the highest high school graduation rate among all states, per Business Insider’s previous analysis.
16. Delaware
Delaware’s school system was ranked 32nd in quality. It earned the No. 1 spot for safety, with the lowest percentage of students who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school grounds, and the second-lowest bullying incidence rate.
15. Indiana
WalletHub ranked Indiana’s public school system 17th in quality and 11th in safety.
14. Maryland
Maryland’s school system was ranked 26th in quality and fourth in safety, according to WalletHub.
13. Florida
In Florida, the public school system placed 16th in quality and ninth in safety.
12. Maine
Maine’s public school system is one of the safest in the nation, coming in third overall. It placed 24th in WalletHub’s quality ranking.
11. Nebraska
Nebraska’s school system tied with North Dakota for the second-highest median SAT scores of any state. Overall, the state’s schools ranked 14th in quality and 10th in safety.
10. North Dakota
In North Dakota, the state’s public school system ranked eighth in quality and 26th in safety. Its median SAT scores tied for second-highest with Nebraska.
9. Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s school system placed within the top 10 of both of WalletHub’s ranking categories, landing at 10th in quality and eighth in safety.
8. New York
WalletHub ranked New York’s school system sixth in quality and 19th in safety.
7. Vermont
With the best pupil-teacher ratio in the nation, Vermont’s school system ranked seventh in quality and 13th in safety, according to WalletHub’s analysis.
6. Virginia
In Virginia, the public school system ranked ninth in quality and fifth in safety. Virginia schools also had the fifth-lowest bullying incidence rate.
5. Wisconsin
Wisconsin public schools ranked fifth in quality and 18th in safety. The state’s school system also featured the fourth-highest median SAT scores, tied with Kansas.
4. New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s school system ranked fourth in quality and 15th in safety. It features the fourth-lowest dropout rate (tied with Alabama and West Virginia) and the fourth-highest reading and math test scores among fourth- and eighth-graders.
3. New Jersey
Fourth- and eighth-grade students in New Jersey’s school system earned the second-best reading test scores and fifth-best math scores among all states.
Around 8.5% of schools in New Jersey rank in the top 700 schools nationwide.
In WalletHub’s overall ranking, New Jersey’s school system ranked second in quality and 20th in safety.
2. Connecticut
Connecticut’s public school system ranked third in quality and sixth in safety, per WalletHub. Connecticut schools feature high ACT scores, the seventh-best pupil-to-teacher ratio, and the lowest prevalence of illegal drugs on school property of any state.
1. Massachusetts
WalletHub’s analysis determined that Massachusetts has the best public school system in the US, ranking first in quality and second in safety overall.
The state’s fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading scores are the highest of any state, and a higher share of students scored a three or above on their AP exams in Massachusetts than in any other state.
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