Georgia finished 37th in a new public education study from the website 24/7 Wall St. that examines such measures as high school graduation rates, per-pupil funding and preschool participation.
In the analysis, which is modeled after the Quality Counts study created by the publication Education Week, Georgia was found to have a 12th-grade graduation rate of 80.6 percent, education spending amounting to $10,205 per student and a preschool participation rate among 3- and 4-year-olds of 46.1 percent.
Those obtaining bachelor’s degrees in the state represented 31.9 percent of the adult population.
Top-ranking states in the 24/7 Wall St. analysis demonstrated strong performances in reading and math proficiency, as well as graduating students on time. In nine of the top-10 state educational systems, high school graduation rates came in above 84.6 percent, the report said.
Even in states that ranked toward the bottom of the list, there are schools that perform at above-average levels, the analysis said.
Which States Have the Best Public Schools?
Rank
State
High School Graduation Rate
Public School Spending per Pupil
% of 3- and 4-year-olds in Preschool
% of Adults With Bachelor’s Degrees
1
Massachusetts
88.3%
$16,197
58.4%
44.5%
2
New Jersey
90.5%
$18,920
62.1%
40.8%
3
Connecticut
87.9%
$19,322
61.7%
39.6%
4
New Hampshire
88.9%
$15,683
57.6%
36.8%
5
Vermont
89.1%
$18,290
61.7%
38.7%
6
Wyoming
86.2%
$16,537
45%
26.9%
7
Minnesota
82.7%
$12,647
49.6%
36.7%
8
Nebraska
89.1%
$12,579
43.3%
32.4%
9
Pennsylvania
86.6%
$15,798
46.9%
31.8%
10
Virginia
86.9%
$11,886
48.1%
39.3%
11
Wisconsin
88.6%
$11,968
37.1%
30%
12
Illinois
87%
$15,337
54.2%
35.1%
13
Maryland
87.7%
$14,848
47.6%
40.8%
14
Maine
86.9%
$13,690
53.5%
31.5%
15
Iowa
91%
$11,461
45.4%
29%
16
New York
81.8%
$23,091
55%
37.2%
17
Colorado
79.1%
$9,809
49.9%
41.7%
18
Indiana
83.8%
$10,045
37.7%
27.1%
19
Ohio
84.2%
$12,645
43.6%
29.0%
20
Montana
85.8%
$11,443
41.4%
31.7%
21
Delaware
86.9%
$15,302
48.7%
31.3%
22
Utah
86%
$7,179
38%
34.9%
23
Florida
82.3%
$9,075
49.9%
30.4%
24
Washington
79.4%
$11,989
45%
36.7%
25
North Carolina
86.6%
$9,072
43.8%
31.9%
26
Missouri
88.3%
$10,589
47%
29.5%
27
South Dakota
83.7%
$9,939
37.8%
29.2%
28
Rhode Island
84.1%
$15,943
33.9%
34.4%
29
Kentucky
89.7%
$10,121
42.7%
24.8%
30
Kansas
86.5%
$10,961
45.8%
33.8%
31
North Dakota
87.2%
$13,760
38.5%
29.7%
32
Tennessee
89.8%
$9,184
35.3%
27.5%
33
Idaho
79.7%
$7,486
36%
27.7%
34
Arkansas
88.0%
$9,967
45.4%
23.3%
35
California
82.7%
$12,143
45.6%
34.2%
36
Texas
89.7%
$9,375
38.7%
30.3%
37
Georgia
80.6%
$10,205
46.1%
31.9%
38
Michigan
80.2%
$11,907
43.5%
29.6%
39
Oregon
76.7%
$11,264
45.2%
34%
40
Mississippi
83%
$8,771
45.1%
23.2%
41
South Carolina
83.6%
$10,590
39.1%
28.3%
42
Hawaii
82.7%
$14,322
44.2%
33.5%
43
Alaska
78.2%
$17,838
44.3%
30.2%
44
Oklahoma
82.6%
$7,940
41.4%
25.6%
45
Arizona
78%
$8,003
35.1%
29.7%
46
Alabama
89.3%
$9,511
40.9%
25.5%
47
West Virginia
89.4%
$11,554
34.6%
21.3%
48
Nevada
80.9%
$9,320
35.1%
24.9%
49
Louisiana
78.1%
$11,199
48.3%
24.3%
50
New Mexico
71.1%
$9,881
40.4%
27.7%
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
