Many states offer excellent higher education opportunities, while others suffer subpar educational standards. These states can be influenced by factors such as the overall state income or the percentage of residents in that state who hold some type of degree. Despite the differences in each state’s education system, they are all evaluated using similar criteria. Here are 12 states that fell flat, according to criteria from Money Inc.
1. South Dakota
It’s been reported that the state’s education score has been affected mainly by South Dakota’s poor funding for public schools. This does not set up students to be successful, which only sets them back further. South Dakota has a graduation rate of 83.9%; while this isn’t a terrible score, there are still many places they can improve.
2. Indiana
The high school situation in Indiana is not bad — about 86.8% of students graduate, which is above the nation’s average. However, only 25.6% of all adults obtain their bachelor’s degree, ranking Indiana ninth lowest in the United States. While some people may get their degree from Indiana, this is also on the lower end of states with prominent universities in it.
3. Texas
With such a big state and large population, it’s easy to assume they would have an excellent education system. Unfortunately, that is not true. Texas gets its bad reputation from the poor funding of public schools. Even though their high school graduation average is higher than the nation’s, only 28.9% of all adults in Texas have received a bachelor’s degree. Texas also has a big name for high school football, which the state will fund more depending on how good the team may be.
4. South Carolina
South Carolina has one of the worst education programs in the United States. The public schools have a very low number of graduates, and the students’ state test scores are dismal. One of the biggest reasons for this is the low yearly income of its residents. Additionally, only about 27.2% of adults have a bachelor’s degree, one of the nation’s lowest rates.
5. Alaska
While Alaska may have one of the highest annual school spending budgets, they lack elsewhere. Alaska has a 76.2% graduation rate, which is very low compared to the nation’s average. Another contributor to poor schooling in Alaska is how rural and far apart the schools are. This distance limits exposure to other students, with each school not having as many students as it is.
6. Idaho
Similar to other states, Idaho lacks funding for its schools. While many other states suffer from poor funding for their high schools, Idaho lacks funding for early childhood classes. Pre-K is one of the most critical developmental steps, with most cognitive skills forming in early childhood. With a lack of funding, the schools cannot get the supplies and teachers needed to get the kids ready to move on to elementary school. Additionally, only 79.7% of students graduate, one of the country’s lowest percentiles.
7. Arizona
Arizona has about 79.4% of students raised by English-speaking families, one of the country’s lowest. The schools do not provide extra help for these students to speak English. This may explain their low graduation rate, with 79.5% of students walking at graduation.
8. Tennessee
Tennessee has one of the lowest enrollment rates for kids ages three and four, marking them about ten percent below the national average for 3 to 4-year-olds enrolled in Pre-K. Additionally, Tennessee has one of the nation’s lowest bachelor degree holder percentages, with only 26.2% of adults obtaining a degree. Their low ranking is believed to be because of the parent’s lack of involvement with their children’s education.
9. Nevada
Nevada’s bad education reputation is due to its terrible public school funding. The state holds the second-lowest graduation rate at a low 73.6%. The state spends the fifth most minuscule amount on each school annually, which may contribute to the meager graduation rate.
10. Oklahoma
Oklahoma is lagging in the math department, with only about a fourth of eighth graders and about a third of fourth graders’ scores reflecting they are proficient in math. While that may not seem very low, it has one of the worst overall scores in math for any state. Even though early education may have low scores, high schools have an average graduation rate of 81.6%, the 15th lowest in the country.
11. Alabama
The quality of schools within Alabama has been ranked in the bottom five in the entire nation. Its math scores are the lowest in the country, with just about 26% of fourth and 17% of eighth graders scoring proficient in math. While the math scores are terrible, the high school graduation rate is slightly lower than the country’s average.
12. West Virginia
West Virginia struggles with college, with only 20.6% of all adults having a bachelor’s degree. Not only is the percentage of college graduates low, but the quality of colleges is the fourth-worst in the country. This could result from the state primarily having many low-income families. Fourth and eighth graders scored significantly lower in math than the rest of the states.
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Source: Money Inc.
