Summer is quickly coming to an end even though the heat is still persistent in some areas of the country. Whether you have a student getting ready to return to class or or just beginning their first year, you will want to know where the best and worst school systems are operating.
With the Every Student Succeeds Act shaping state curriculum’s and all students getting closer to the end of their summer vacations, learning where the best schools are could help you determine where you want your child to attend classes. Maybe you have had enough of the school district where you currently reside and seek a better form of education for your son or daughter.
A new study entitled, 2018’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems could help you find the perfect place where your student can learn and excel beyond what he or she has been doing over the years.
While it may mean picking up and moving from one state to another, or simply enrolling your student in another district across town, this study might help you decide what is best.
The study compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio to dropout rate to median standardized-test scores.
Here is a sample of one such result that might help you if you are interested in relocating to California:
Quality & Safety of Schools in California (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 44th – Math Test Scores
- 38th – Reading Test Scores
- 51st – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
- 43rd – Median SAT Score
- 14th – Median ACT Score
- 22nd – % of Licensed/Certified Public K–12 Teachers
- 30th – Dropout Rate
- 7th – Bullying Incidence Rate
- 4th – % of Threatened/Injured High School Student
Maybe you are not California dreaming and want your student to attend classes in the Midwest. In Iowa for example, the highest math scores were reported in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia and Wyoming. While the lowest were calculated in Alaska, Alabama, New Mexico, District of Columbia and Louisiana.
As for the highest reading scores, those states that had the best scores were Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont. Those states that did not do so well in reading were Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, New Mexico and the District of Columbia.
And if you are worried about your child being bullied, the best places where that is most likely not to happen is the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Virginia and Massachusetts. The most bullying incidents were reported in in West Virginia, Alaska, Louisiana, Idaho and Arkansas, according to the study.
And the highest dropout rate falls to these cities: Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico and the District of Columbia. The lowest high school dropout rate are in Iowa, New Jersey, West Virginia, Nebraska and Texas,
In the end, it is up to you as to where you want your student or prospective student to learn his/her reading, writing and arithmetic lessons. Sometimes, it may be a matter of uprooting the entire family in order to get your son or daughter the education that makes the most sense for him/her.
