2023’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems
With student scores in math and reading having dropped significantly last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems.
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 California (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- 39th – Math Test Scores
- 30th – Reading Test Scores
- 49th – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
- 23rd – Median SAT Score
- 2nd – Median ACT Score
- 30th – % of Licensed/Certified Public K–12 Teachers
- 31st – Dropout Rate
- 39th – Bullying Incidence Rate
- 2nd – % of Threatened/Injured High School Students
- 1st – Existence of Digital Learning Plan
Expert Commentary
Does variation in per-pupil spending explain most of the variation in school quality?
“I would say that per-pupil spending is a factor, but not the biggest factor in defining school quality. I think taking a closer look at how funding is being spent matters. It is also important to look at larger contextual factors within a given community to determine school quality. Access to resources, affordable housing, transportation, and environmental factors all influence school quality.”
— Tyrone C. Howard, Ph.D. – President, American Educational Research Association; Director, UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children & Families; Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, School of Education & Information Studies
“The short answer is, ‘It depends on how ‘quality’ is defined.’ When considering ‘school quality,’ much focus is placed on test scores. Research exploring relationships between test scores and funding is inconclusive at best. Beyond test scores, holistic (and more complete) approaches to ‘quality’ must include considerations of the adequacy of the physical environment (does the school have adequate heating/cooling systems?), educational opportunities (does the school have adequate lab equipment and technology?), and sufficient resources for students to develop as people (does the school have sufficient “green space” and playground equipment?). To a degree, these factors are explained by per-pupil spending, but they are not the whole story. Beyond spending – and as fundamental to student growth – ‘quality’ can be seen in the relationships that exist between educators and students. Policies, curricular experiences, and classroom/school climate facilitation each deeply impact quality while having less to do with funding. All of these factors play a role in both per-pupil spending and school quality, making this question very difficult to answer because each school has unique needs, resources, and social climates.”
— Benjamin R. Wellenreiter, Ed.D. – Assistant Professor, Illinois State University; Executive Director, Illinois Council for the Social Studies
What can state and local policymakers do to improve their school systems without raising taxes?
“To improve school systems at the state level, policymakers must maintain a focus on high-quality teacher and administrator preparation and licensure requirements. Reducing qualification requirements for teachers and other school professionals degrades schools and does not solve short- or long-term teacher shortage issues. At the local level, policymakers can focus on early-career teacher mentorship programs that assist teachers in their early years. This reduces attrition and improves teacher effectiveness without raising taxes.”
— Benjamin R. Wellenreiter, Ed.D. – Assistant Professor, Illinois State University; Executive Director, Illinois Council for the Social Studies
“Perhaps this needs to be reframed. Policymakers are not in the schools. They are not facing the students and witnessing the deficits and needs that must be bridged. The number one thing that policymakers need to do is to listen to the school leaders…More testing, for example, will not realize improved test scores. What improves student outcomes is improved quality instruction from excellent teachers who can adjust their methods based on student needs and feedback. The mass exodus of teachers from the profession can be improved by paying the best teachers the best salaries to produce the best results and setting them free to teach. Teaching is an art and a magic that can only be realized if the teachers are well-trained and allowed to focus on improved student outcomes…Just because legislators have been to school does not mean that they know how to teach and trying to legislate and dictate best practice.”
— Angela Farmer – Assistant Clinical Professor; Early Honors Academy Program Director, Mississippi State University
In setting a child up for success, how important is the quality of the school relative to other factors (family, neighborhood, etc.)?
“They are incredibly important. Family stability, education/income levels are vital factors for student success. But we have to understand the legacy of institutional racism that for decades made schools separate and unequal. We are still dealing with the remnants of generations of people who attended underfunded schools.”
—Tyrone C. Howard, Ph.D. – President, American Educational Research Association; Director, UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children & Families; Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools, School of Education & Information Studies
“As the location where 4-18-year-olds spend a great deal of their time, school quality, broadly defined, is essential to setting up a child for success. Certainly, the home environment (family, neighborhood, etc.) is more fundamentally important, but schools serve as a ‘home away from home’ for many students. High-quality schools that provide the services needed to facilitate meaningful academic, social, emotional, and civic development are essential to long-term success.”
— Benjamin R. Wellenreiter, Ed.D. – Assistant Profe ssor, Illinois State University; Executive Director, Illinois Council for the Social Studies
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-schools/5335
Image Sources
- School: Pexels