Virginia ranked 6th nationwide in a survey of U.S. state school systems.
In the top 5 “Best School Systems” released last week by WalletHub, Massachusetts took first place, followed by Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. Maryland ranked 14th, and Washington D.C. ranked 30th. Virginia’s public education system boasts excellent academic achievement and systematic standards, with State of the Latter Day (SOL) testing, county-level school district management, and performance-based evaluation cited as key features.
This survey compared and analyzed 32 key indicators across 50 states and Washington D.C. Massachusetts, which took the top spot, is a state with the best education system, ranking first nationwide in 4th and 8th grade math and reading. High school students also performed well, with the highest percentage of students in the nation scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams, which cover college-level learning content. Conversely, New Mexico was named the worst school system, followed by Alaska, Oklahoma, Oregon, and West Virginia.
The evaluation was based on criteria including academic achievement and test scores, school finances and funding methods, teacher qualifications and expertise, class sizes, school safety, and student satisfaction.