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States with Best & Worst Education (2023)

Scholaroo ventures to discover the best and worst school systems across three factors — Student Success, Student Safety and School Quality. I’m in agreement with some and disagree with some. Interesting how California is good in Math but at the bottom in others ranked 45. My Ohio is ranked 22.

Education is a key indicator of the economic, social, and cultural success of any state. To analyze school systems across the United States, Scholaroo has identified various criteria such as student success, school quality, and student safety to compare all fifty states in order to assess which school systems are the best and worst in this 2023.

Student success can be measured through various academic metrics such as test scores and graduation rates. School quality accounts for the level of resources available to school districts. Finally, student safety is an important factor in determining school system rankings; this includes school security measures, bullying prevention programs, and other initiatives designed to ensure students feel safe at school.

The data set considers a depth of topics across 43 key indicators, ranging from metrics that measure how much a student is enabled to succeed, to metrics that measure the school’s security.

If you want to know which state has the best education system for 2023, here we show it to you.

Rankings of States with Best & Worst Public Schools

Category Breakdown

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst school systems per state, Scholaroo compared the 50 states across three key dimensions:

Student Success
Student Safety
School Quality

We evaluated those dimensions using 43 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weight. Each metric was graded on a 100 point scale, with a score of 100 being the max.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Student Success (25 Points)

High School Graduation Rate: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of graduates High school graduates or higher.

High School Dropout Rate: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of high school dropouts among persons 16 to 24 years old (status dropout rate).

SAT Scores: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the SAT mean scores of High School Seniors.

ACT Scores: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the average ACT score (Composite score: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science scores) of Graduates.

College-Going Rates: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of High School graduates going directly to College.

Reading Test Scores: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the Average of Scale Scores between 4th and 8th Grade Reading scores.

Math Test Scores: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the Average of Scale Scores between 4th and 8th Grade Mathematics scores.

Science Test Scores: Double Weight (2.27 points)

Note: This metric measures the Average of Scale Scores between 4th and 8th Grade Science scores.

AP Exam Participation: Regular Weight (1.14 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of graduates who took an AP exam during High School.

AP Exam Scores: Regular Weight ((1.14 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of the Class of 2021 scoring a 3 or higher on an AP exam during High School.

Students in Gifted Programs: Regular Weight (1.14 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of public students enrolled in gifted/talented programs.

Class Suspension Rates: Regular Weight (1.14 points)

Note: This metric measures the number of days missed due to suspension (per School).

Expulsion Rate: Half Weight (0.57 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of student expulsions (per school).

Retention Rate: Half Weight (0.57 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of 8th Grade students retained (per school).

Student Participation in Sports: Regular Weight (1.14 points)

Note: This metric measures child participates in a sports team or did he or she take sports lessons after school or on weekends, age 6-17 years.

School Quality (35 Points)

Annual per-pupil spending: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the annual per-pupil spending in Public Elementary-Secondary School System Finances.

School Rankings: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of presence of Public High Schools in the Top 100

0 Best U.S Schools by U.S. News & World Report.

Pupil/ Teacher Ratio: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the pupil/teacher ratios in public elementary and secondary schools.

Presence of Guidance Counselors: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the number of guidance counselors per Public High School.

Presence of School Health Councils: Half Weight (1.75 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools with one or more School Health Councils.

Full-Time Registered Nurse: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools that have a Full-Time Registered Nurse who provides Health Services to students.

Health Education Curriculum: Half Weight (1.75 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools that required Health Education Instruction in grades 6–12.

Healthy Eating Curriculum: Half Weight (1.75 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools in which Teachers taught the benefits of healthy eating.

Sexual Health Curriculum: Half Weight (1.75 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools in which Teachers taught all 20 sexual health topics (including topics related to how HIV and STD’s are transmitted, contraception methods, sexual orientation, gender expression, creating and sustaining healthy relationships, sexual risk behaviors, etc) in a Required Course in Any of Grades 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Teachers meeting State Licensing Requirements: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of teachers that meet all State Licensing/Certification Requirements.

Level of Experienced Teachers: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of teachers with 3 or more years of experience.

Average Teachers’ Salary: Regular Weight (3.50 points)

Note: This metric measures the cost of living adjusted to the average teacher salary.

Student Safety (40 Points)

Bullying Rate: Regular Weight (3.33 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of High School students who were bullied on school property.

Exposure to Illegal Drugs: Regular Weight (3.33 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of High School students who were offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school property.

Absence of Students due to Safety Concerns: Regular Weight (3.33 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of High School students who did not go to school because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.

Bullying and Sexual Harassment Prevention: Double Weight (6.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Secondary Schools where all school staff received professional development on preventing, identifying, and responding to student bullying and sexual harassment.

Sexual Assault Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Sexual Assault.

Rape or Attempted Rape Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of Rape or Attempted Rape.

Robbery with a Weapon Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of robberies with a Weapon.

Robbery with a firearm or explosive Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of robberies with a firearm or explosive.

Robbery without a weapon Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of robberies without a weapon.

Physical attack or fight with a weapon Rate: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of physical attacks or fights with a weapon.

Physical attack or fight with a firearm or explosive device Rate: Regular Weight (3.33 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of physical attacks or fights with a firearm or explosive.

Physical attack without a weapon: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of physical attacks without a weapon.

Threats of physical attack with a weapon: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of threats of physical attacks with a weapon.

Threats of physical attack with a firearm or explosive device: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of threats of physical attacks with a firearm or explosive device.

Threats of physical attack without a weapon: Half Weight (1.67 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of threats of physical attacks without a weapon.

Possession of a firearm or explosive device: Regular Weight (3.33 points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of possession of a firearm or explosive device.

How we fix the lies about schools not being safe. Get off your butts and get back into school. We’ve heard all the excuses, vaccine everybody, more masks, social distance, Old buildings, stale air, etc., etc.. They’re a dime a dozen. Here’s how we fix it.

Old buildings, poor air circulation. Here’s how you fix those excuses. A teacher in Ohio tried that. I have a heart condition. Our buildings are old. I’ll die in the classroom or walking the halls. So the school board said this. We will test the air in your school building where you teach. Then we will test the air in your house and your husbands place of employment. End of discussion.

As schools in the U.S. and abroad have reopened amid the pandemic, there “has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission,” the scientists said. The researchers cited studies of COVID-19 cases in schools in Mississippi, North Carolina and rural Wisconsin, as well as a European CDC report that found schools were not associated with accelerating community transmission.