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.
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Vermont
- New Jersey
- Wisconsin
- New York
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Pennsylvania
- Montana
- Maine
- Virginia
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- Kansas
- Wyoming
- Indiana
- Maryland
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Colorado
- South Dakota
- Rhode Island
- Illinois
- North Carolina
- Missouri
- Delaware
- Utah
- Idaho
- Washington
- Michigan
- South Carolina
- Texas and West Virginia (tie)
- Oregon
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Georgia
- Florida
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Hawaii
- California
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Arizona
- Nevada
- New Mexico
