If you have children or are thinking about growing your family soon, you’ve likely given some thought to schools.
The caliber of nearby schools often plays a significant role in choosing where to settle down.
Personal finance site SmartAsset recently released its yearly ranking of the best states for K-12 education. So if kids factor into your housing plans, you may want to consult this list before committing to a long-term mortgage.
How Were the Schools Evaluated?
SmartAsset gathered statistics from all 50 states and weighed indicators such as student-to-teacher ratio, per-pupil spending, graduation rate, college enrollment rate and the share of students taking and succeeding in Advanced Placement classes.
They assigned each state a letter grade from A to F.
What Did the Rankings Reveal?
Northeastern states tended to occupy the top ranks.
New Jersey earned the top spot with an A, reporting a student-teacher ratio near 12:1 and a 90% high school graduation rate.
It’s likely that the state’s elevated property taxes help fund education, with average spending of $21,138 per pupil in the 2014–2015 school year.
The top 10 states for K-12 education are:
1. New Jersey
2. Connecticut
3. Massachusetts
4. New York
5. Vermont
6. Maryland
7. Virginia
8. Iowa
9. North Dakota
10. Pennsylvania
At the bottom of the list was Nevada, which received an F and spends only about $7,557 per student annually.
Average class sizes there approach 18 students per teacher, and the high school graduation rate is just 71%. Of those graduates, nearly half — 48% — do not enroll in college within a year.
The 10 lowest-ranked states for public education (starting with the worst) are:
1. Nevada
2. Idaho
3. Arizona
4. Oregon
5. Utah
6. Washington
7. Oklahoma
8. New Mexico
9. Colorado
10. Mississippi
See the complete rankings here.
Don’t Live in a Top State? What You Can Do
Don’t panic if your state doesn’t rank as highly as New Jersey or Connecticut. SmartAsset’s ranking evaluates states as a whole. Individual school districts, single schools or even specific classrooms can be exceptions to the statewide trend.
And if your child’s school is lacking, you can enhance their learning with atutor, trips to thelibraryor visits tomuseumsandnational parks.
There are plenty of free or inexpensive online tools, too. PBS Parents provides no-cost educational activities and games for younger kids. ABC Mouse supplies comparable learning materials for about $7.95 per month — and they often offer a free month trial.
For teens, Quizlet has free study aids across many subjects. SparkNotes can help high schoolers tackle Shakespeare and other topics like biology, history and math.
If your child wants to unwind in front of the TV after classes, there are educational and entertaining shows on channels such as PBS, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and National Geographic. I’d probably avoid programs like “Ancient Aliens” or “Naked and Afraid,” though.
Your Turn: Has the quality of local schools influenced where you decided to live?
Maria Ellis is a contributing writer at Savinly. She attended public schools in New Jersey.
