Education Rankings
Measuring how well states are educating their studentsMeasuring how well states are educating their students
Measuring how well states are educating their students
The quality of a community’s schools is central to any family’s aspirations. Public education has largely been a local matter for school boards and states that allocate most of their funding. Yet for the past several decades, the federal government has entered the field: With the No Child Left Behind Act, President George W. Bush put in place requirements that schools demonstrate “adequate yearly progress” based on standardized student testing. The law was replaced during the Obama administration with the Every Student Succeeds Act. Many states also coordinated with the federal government in Common Core standards for basic curriculum. Now Republicans are promoting another direction based on charter schools, privately run schools operated with public oversight and funding, and school choice, enabling parents to decide which public or private schools their children attend with public funding.
Massachusetts is the top state for education. It’s followed by New Jersey, Florida, Washington and New Hampshire to round out the top five. Seven of the 10 states with the best education systems also rank among the top 10 Best States overall.
Explore more about the best state for education below.
Rank | State |
Rank | State | Higher Education | Pre-K-12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | 1 | ||||
| 2 | 30 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 1 | 27 | ||||
| 4 | 2 | 19 | ||||
| 5 | 37 | 3 | ||||
| 6 | 7 | 9 | ||||
| 7 | 14 | 8 | ||||
| 8 | 41 | 4 | ||||
| 9 | 8 | 13 | ||||
| 10 | 6 | 22 | ||||
| 11 | 9 | 14 | ||||
| 12 | 44 | 5 | ||||
| 13 | 17 | 11 | ||||
| 14 | 11 | 16 | ||||
| 15 | 13 | 15 |
Photos From California to New York: All 50 U.S. States Excel at Something
The states were ranked on performance in higher education as well as primary and secondary schooling and pre-K education. The measures included percentages of adults with associate degrees or higher, the rates of students completing public four-year and two-year college programs within 150 percent of the normal time, the average tuition and fees for in-state students at public institutions and the average debt load of graduates from public and private colleges. The states also were ranked on percentages of children enrolled in preschool and compared in national testing of eighth-graders in math and reading, in rates of graduation from high school and readiness for college.
With the Best States platform and its powerful navigation tools, see why some states ranked highly and which states have some work to do. Compare your own state with others for an understanding of what they can learn from one another.
What Goes Into the Education Score?
Higher Education
The higher education ranking tracks educational attainment, graduation rates, college debt and tuition costs.
See Higher Education RankingsPre-K - 12
This ranking measures enrollment in pre-K, standardized test scores and the public high school graduation rate.
See Pre-K - 12 RankingsNote: Weights may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Explore the Data
See the Best States data come of life with our interactive explorer tools.
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