Connecticut and New York among states with the best school systems 

New research has revealed the states with the best school systems, with Connecticut and New York among the top five.  

Educational resource site Teach Simple gathered data from sources including the National Center for Education Statistics to analyze factors like bullying rate, academic performance and pupil-to-teacher ratio. Each factor was awarded a score of 10 to determine the ranking.    

Massachusetts places first, with a final score of 71.54. The state received the highest possible score of 10 for the average mathematics score in eighth grade at 283.59, as well as a score of 10 for the average ACT score, this being 26.50. Massachusetts scored 9.59 for a relatively low bullying rate, with 14.61% of public-school students from grades nine through 12 reporting bullying on school property.  

New Jersey places second on the list, scoring 69.19. New Jersey scored 10 in multiple categories – the average scores in grade eight being 269.78 for reading and 175.33 for writing; the rate of students possessing firearms being just 0.43%; and the public expenditure on student support, food services and transportation standing at $3,625 per pupil.    

In third place is Connecticut, earning a score of 62.80. Like Massachusetts, pupils in Connecticut also received high ACT scores, with an average of 26.30. This earned the state a score of 9.78. In addition, Connecticut’s pupil-to-student ratio is 12:2, achieving a score of 8.57.  

Taking the fourth spot is New York, with a score of 62.31. New York has the highest number of books in public libraries, approximately 64,494, earning a score of 10. Additionally, New York received a score of 10 for average salary of public-school teachers, which is $92,222.  

Maryland ranks in fifth place, with a score of 58.48. The rate of students expelled in public schools is low in this state, 0.05%, resulting in a score of 8.54 for this factor. On top of this, the Old Line State earned a score of 8.41 for the low rate of high school dropouts at just 4.08%.  

Sixth place goes to Iowa, with a score of 58.19. Iowa has accumulated a score of 10 for having the highest public school graduation rate of 92%. The Hawkeye State also received a high score of 8.05 for the low rate of students suspended in public schools, which is 3.49%.  

Maine is in seventh place, with a score of 58.12. Maine has been awarded a score of 9.41 for the impressive pupil-to-teacher ratio of 11:2. There are also 19.26 public libraries per 100,000 students in Maine, which gives the state a score of 9.19 in this category.    

Following closely behind is Virginia in eighth place, with a score of 57.34. Virginia’s public- school students from grades nine through 12 reported low bullying rates compared to other states, as 15.67% of pupils reported bullying on school property, while 12.59% reported bullying online, earning scores of 8.74 and 7.77, respectively.   

In ninth place is Pennsylvania, which has a score of 55.52. One of Pennsylvania’s highest-scoring categories was for the number of books in public libraries, giving it a score of 7.54 for 23,930 books. In addition, the Keystone State received a score of 8.52 for the low percentage of students who possessed a firearm at school, which was 1.25%.   

Wisconsin rounds out the top 10 with a score of 55.43. Wisconsin has the highest possible score of 10 for the average SAT score of high school seniors, which is 1,252. The average mathematics score in grade eight was 281.14 in Wisconsin, resulting in a score of 9.  

A spokesperson for Teach Simple said of the findings: “The results of the study are undoubtedly reassuring for parents located in these top 10 states, as they can have peace of mind knowing that their children are learning in an environment that will allow them to thrive, from strong pupil-to- teacher ratios to high ACT scores.”  

“It’s fascinating to see that out of the 10 states in the ranking, seven of those (are) on the East Coast. It will be interesting to monitor whether factors like bullying rate and dropout rate will decrease in the future in other regions of America, or whether the East Coast will continue to dominate.”