The Berkshires' Classic Hits Station
Once again, the good folks at WalletHub have put together a very interesting study that I felt I had to pass along to you. This study involves which states have the best and worst public school systems.
And I'm pleased and proud to inform my fellow Berkshire County residents that Massachusetts came in ranked at #1 as having the best public school systems out of all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.
In order to make their determination, WalletHub compared all the states and the District of Columbia across over 30 differing key metrics including dropout rate, test scores(both reading and math), standardized test scores, rate of bullying incidents, pupil-to-teacher ratio, and more.
Looking at the data results, you can see why Massachusetts placed #1 overall. Massachusetts had the highest test scores for both reading and math, as well as being tied at #1 with Connecticut and the District of Columbia for the highest ACT scores.
Also of interest, Massachusetts had the lowest percentage of high school students who reported being bullied on school property. In terms of the highest percentage of bullying incidents reported by high schoolers, there was a three-way tie between California, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
Did any other New England states make it into the top 20 of the rankings? Of course, they all did! Connecticut came in at #2 overall, New Hampshire placed at #7, and Vermont just missed the top 10, coming in at #11.
Maine came in right on Vermont's heels at #12 and finally, placed at #16 was Rhode Island. That's a terrific showing for New England, let me tell you. We should give it up for all the teachers, administrators, personnel, and anyone and everyone involved in the public school systems here in the Bay State. You deserve the props and the love and many go truly unrecognized.
There are many other interesting facets to this study like which state has the worst public school systems and how each state placed overall and why. Check out WalletHub's website here and read on.