BALTIMORE, MD—With reading scores falling nationwide and math gains uneven last year amid significant inflation and economic uncertainty, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2025’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems.
Maryland cracked the top ten, coming in at No. 9. Massachusetts topped the list with Connecticut coming in second place.
In order to determine the best school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores.
Quality & Safety of Schools in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- Overall Rank: 9th
- 21st – Reading Test Scores
- 28th – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
- 6th – Median ACT Score
- 26th – Dropout Rate
- 12th – Bullying Incidence Rate
- 11th – % of Threatened/Injured High School Students
- 1st – Existence of Digital Learning Plan
“Getting enough funding is essential for a productive school system, but simply having more money doesn’t guarantee success,” said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. “How funds are applied also plays a big role in how good a school system is, as does the quality of educators, other professionals and the curriculum. In addition, schools need to focus not just on test scores but also on making sure that students feel safe, comfortable and cared for.”
“Massachusetts is the state with the best school systems, boasting the highest math and reading scores in the country,” Lupo added. “In addition, Massachusetts has the highest share of students in the country who received a score of three or better on an AP exam. Finally, Massachusetts has the fifth-lowest share of students who report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property and the fourth-lowest share who report illegal drugs being available to them on school property.”
The full rankings can be viewed online here at WalletHub.
More in the video below.
Photo via Pixabay
