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#1
11-16-04, 12:27 PM
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States Ranked: Smartest to Dumbest The smartest state in the union for the second consecutive year is Massachusetts. The dumbest, for the third year in a row, is New Mexico. These are the findings of the Education State Rankings, a survey by Morgan Quitno Press of hundreds of public school systems in all 50 states. States were graded on a variety of factors based on how they compare to the national average. These included such positive attributes as per-pupil expenditures, public high school graduation rates, average class size, student reading and math proficiency, and pupil-teacher ratios. States received negative points for high drop-out rates and physical violence. How does YOUR state rank? 1. Massachusetts 2. Connecticut 3. Vermont 4. New Jersey 5. Wisconsin 6. New York 7. Minnesota 8. Iowa 9. Pennsylvania 10. Montana 11. Maine 12. Virginia 13. Nebraska 14. New Hampshire 15. Kansas 16. Wyoming 17. Indiana 18. Maryland 19. North Dakota 20. Ohio 21. Colorado 22. South Dakota 23. Rhode Island 24. Illinois 25. North Carolina 26. Missouri 27. Delaware 28. Utah 29. Idaho 30. Washington 31. Michigan 32. South Carolina 33. Texas and West Virginia (tie) 35. Oregon 36. Arkansas 37. Kentucky 38. Georgia 39. Florida 40. Oklahoma 41. Tennessee 42. Hawaii 43. California 44. Alabama 45. Alaska 46. Louisiana 47. Mississippi 48. Arizona 49. Nevada 50. New Mexico      |
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#2
11-16-04, 12:52 PM
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"Smartest" to "dumbest" is misleading. It's just a measure of the quality of public education, and there are plenty of external factors which affect that. For example, California is ranked 43rd. I would surmise that their low ranking has much to do with the stresses that migrant labor families place on the system. The same dynamic is working against Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada. Meanwhile, New York is sixth. While they may spend a lot per-student, I would question how efficiently that money is spent. |
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#3
11-16-04, 01:02 PM
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yeah-it is misleading. for example, i went to a private high school and i always thought it was inappropriate to suggest that my high school was superior in quality because it had higher college admission rates and test scores. the fact is that at a private school you can weed out those variables which a public school can not-such as crime rates, disassociated parents, drop outs due to pregnancy, special ed. etc. Had those variables been put in place i would have loved to seen the resulting drop off in our academic performance. I think this same paradigm applies to the national scene-the more challenged states are going to have less impressive numbers.
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#4
11-16-04, 01:17 PM
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And I have observed that the discrepancy between Illinois and Texas public schools is enormous -- Texas is VASTLY superior, though that survey indicates otherwise. There are a lot of poor districts in Texas that absolutely smoke upper-middle-class public schools in Illinois.
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#5
11-16-04, 01:31 PM
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 Rank Percent State (X) 26.7 United States (X) 44.4 District of Columbia 1 37.6 Maryland 2 35.7 Colorado 3 34.6 Virginia 4 34.3 Massachusetts 5 32.6 Connecticut 6 31.4 New Jersey 7 30.8 Vermont 8 30.5 Minnesota 9 30.1 New Hampshire 9 30.1 Rhode Island 11 29.5 Delaware 12 29.1 Kansas 13 28.8 New York 14 28.3 Washington 15 27.9 California 16 27.3 Illinois 17 27.1 Nebraska 17 27.1 Oregon 19 26.8 Hawaii 19 26.8 Utah 21 26.7 Missouri 22 26.3 Arizona 23 26.2 Texas 24 26.1 Pennsylvania 25 25.7 Florida 26 25.6 Alaska 27 25.4 New Mexico 28 25.3 North Dakota 29 25.0 Georgia 30 24.7 Wisconsin 31 24.5 Ohio 32 23.8 Maine 33 23.7 Indiana 34 23.6 Montana 34 23.6 South Dakota 36 23.3 South Carolina 37 23.1 Iowa 38 22.7 Alabama 39 22.5 Michigan 40 22.4 North Carolina 41 22.1 Louisiana 41 22.1 Nevada 43 21.6 Kentucky 44 21.5 Tennessee 45 20.9 Idaho 45 20.9 Mississippi 47 20.4 Oklahoma 48 19.6 Wyoming 49 18.3 Arkansas 50 15.9 West Virginia |
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#6
11-16-04, 01:35 PM
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per-pupil expenditures being included invalidates the survey for me. There is not a high coorelation between the amount spent and the quality of the education recieved. (parental involvement is highest- and not measured in this study) Also, a dollor spent here in Texas can buy a lot more than a dollar in Mass
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#7
11-16-04, 06:04 PM
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If you had inserted the apostrophe in the correct location(along with the use of proper capitalization in the title), do you think that we might have been able to edge out West Virginia? i.e. At least we're smarter than Tennessee...  |
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#8
11-17-04, 12:31 AM
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IN YOUR FACE, OKLAHOMA! So does Connecticut become the smartest state if Massachusetts cannot fulfill their duties as the smartest state? Nevada can breathe a sigh of relief, as it is New Mexico who has to endure a year of jokes other states make about them. Among them... Q: How do you tell which is the Groom at a New Mexican wedding? A: He's the one with the CLEAN bowling shirt. Q: What did the New Mexican mother say when her daughter announced that she was pregnant? A: "Are you sure it's yours?" Q: How do you keep a New Mexican in suspense?
__________________  "Married men live longer. Yes. And an indoor cat also lives longer. It's a furball with a broken spirit, that can only look out on a world it can never enjoy. But it does technically live longer." - Bill Maher |
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#9
11-17-04, 01:35 AM
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#10
11-17-04, 10:18 AM
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Linear Mode
