Top States for K-12 Education Revealed

By Samanda Dorger

Good early education can makes a big difference when it comes to setting kids up for success.

A recent study by PlaygroundEquipment.com analyzed eight key education metrics across all 50 states, to find the best and worst states for K-12 education.

The study included SAT and ACT scores, graduation rates, student-teacher ratios, dropout rates, and stats on idle youth and bullying.

1. Massachusetts leads as the best state for pre-college education with:

high SAT/ACT scores

90% high-school graduation rate

lowest dropout rates

2. Virginia ranks next with:

high SAT and ACT scores,

89% graduation rate

one of the lowest dropout rates — 3.5%

3. North Dakota follows with:

high SAT scores

low idle youth: meaning nearly all young people are in school or working

small classroom sizes

These were followed by:

4. Connecticut

5. Iowa

6. New Jersey

7. New Hampshire

8. Pennsylvania

9. New York

10. Rhode Island

New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona rank at the bottom of the list.

New Mexico has the highest dropout rate at 8.7%, followed by Louisiana and Nevada, each at 8.2%

Wisconsin and Wyoming had the highest percentage of children bullied.

As for SAT scores, Kansas, Wyoming, and Utah have the highest in the nation.

See the full ranking here:

Methodology: The study ranked all 50 states based on eight key factors: SAT scores, ACT scores, high school graduation rate, student-teacher ratio, idle youth percentage, percentage of students bullied, Blue Ribbon Schools per capita and dropout rate, using sources including NCES, KFF, PrepScholar, The Annie E. Casey Foundation and National Blue Ribbon Schools.