Report card
Texas barely passes in new ranking of best school systems in America
Texans may think everything here is bigger and better, but the Lone Star State has fallen behind many other states in America when it comes to ensuring the academic success of its children, according to a new report by personal finance website WalletHub.
Texas landed a middling ranking at No. 29 in WalletHub's annual "States with the Best and Worst School Systems (2024)" report, earning a score of 49.86 out of 100 total possible points.
The report examined all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the quality and safety of each state's public school system. Thirty-two metrics were considered in the study, including school graduation/dropout rates, standardized test scores, SAT/ACT scores, the number of school shootings, youth incarceration rates, and more.
Massachusetts is home to the No. 1 best public school system in the nation, earning a score of 74.36 points.
According to the study's findings, Texas has the sixth highest rate of bullying, and the eighth highest dropout rate in the nation. The state ranked No. 34 for its median ACT scores, and No. 40 in the nationwide ranking of median SAT scores.
Here's how WalletHub broke down Texas' ranking in other educational categories:
- No. 1 – Existence of Digital Learning Plan
- No. 18 – Math test scores
- No. 29 – Percentage of licensed/certified public K-12 teachers
- No. 31 – Pupil-teacher ratio
- No. 40 – Percentage of threatened/injured high school students
- No. 42 – Reading test scores
While securing enough public school funding is important for students' education, WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe warns that "simply having more money doesn’t guarantee success." What school districts do with that money is what matters.
"How funds are applied also plays a big role in how good a school system is, as does the quality of educators, other professionals and the curriculum," Happe said in the report. "In addition, schools need to focus not just on test scores but also on making sure that students feel safe, comfortable and cared for.”
Despite Texas' bleak state ranking, three Dallas high schools were ranked among the best high schools in the country earlier in 2024. Nearly two dozen other Dallas-Fort Worth schools were included on the list of top 100 schools in Texas.
The top 10 states with the best public school systems are:
- No. 1 – Massachusetts
- No. 2 – Connecticut
- No. 3 – Maryland
- No. 4 – New Jersey
- No. 5 – Wisconsin
- No. 6 – New Hampshire
- No. 7 – Nebraska
- No. 8 – New York
- No. 9 – Virginia
- No. 10 – North Dakota
