MA Tops New National Rankings For School Quality, Safety: Here’s Why
According to a recent research, many public school systems in the Northeast are exceeding those in the rest of the nation in terms of safety and quality.
Letter blocks and colored pencils are next to an apple that is piled on top of books.
On Monday, July 21, WalletHub published their list of the States with the Best and Worst School Systems for 2025. Public schools in each state were ranked by the study according to factors like funding, safety, teacher qualifications, and academic performance.
With the highest reading and math results in the fourth and eighth grades, Massachusetts was ranked first in the nation. In addition, Bay State had one of the lowest rates of in-school violence and the largest percentage of students who received a three or above on Advanced Placement (AP) tests.
With the second-best ACT scores in the country and the sixth-best percentage of nationally rated public high schools, Connecticut came in second overall. It also has the lowest reported rate of illegal narcotics on school grounds, making it one of the safest states for pupils.
Supported by the nation’s second-best reading and fifth-best math results, New Jersey finished third. In addition to ranking in the top 10 for student-teacher ratio, Garden State had the second-highest percentage of students who received a three or above on AP exams.
Virginia came in fifth in safety and fourth overall. Maryland came in second at number nine because of its robust school security policies and steady academic performance.
The top 10 was completed by New York. Its strong reading scores and low student-teacher ratio helped the Empire State.
Pennsylvania came in at number 22, ranking only 28th in terms of safety but 18th in terms of academic quality. It lagged behind neighboring states in important educational outcomes, even though it ranked 12th in terms of spending per student.
Only a few of the seven states with “high spending” on education have top-tier institutions, according to WalletHub.
“A successful school system requires adequate funding, but having more money alone does not ensure success,” Chip Lupo, an analyst at WalletHub, stated. “The quality of the curriculum, teachers, and other professionals, as well as the way finances are used, all have a significant impact on how good a school system is. Additionally, schools must prioritize ensuring that pupils feel safe, comfortable, and cared for in addition to test scores.
You can view WalletHub’s whole analysis by clicking here.
