Report: R.I. 28th on list of best and worst school systems in country

WALLETHUB RANKED all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the quality of their educational systems. Rhode Island ranked 28th on the list. Massachusetts was first. / COURTESY WALLETHUB
WALLETHUB RANKED all 50 states and the District of Columbia on the quality of their educational systems. Rhode Island ranked 28th on the list. Massachusetts was first. / COURTESY WALLETHUB

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked in the bottom half of states on a listing of the best and worst school systems, coming in 28th.
WalletHub, a finance website, said Massachusetts topped the list for its school systems. In fact, the rest of the New England states all placed in the top 10 – Connecticut was third; Vermont, fourth; New Hampshire, sixth; and Maine, eighth.
Last on the list, which also included the District of Columbia (47th), was Louisiana at 51st.
WalletHub said it studied 17 metrics for the ranking, including pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate and average SAT and ACT test scores. It said Vermont has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, 10.6, which is 2.3 times lower than California, where the ratio is highest at 24.3.
“With school resuming session, many parents might be wondering whether they’ve selected the best school districts to secure their children’s academic success,” WalletHub stated.
Citing median incomes for workers 25 and older last year, WalletHub said those with a bachelor’s degree earned 68 percent more than those with only a high school diploma, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “revealing that income potential grows – and chances of unemployment shrink – as educational attainment improves.”
In subcategories of school system quality and school system safety, the Ocean State slipped to 31st, but improved to 21st, respectively. Rhode Island did rank fourth lowest for bullying incidents, behind only the District of Columbia, Florida and North Carolina.
Massachusetts was best in the nation for reading test scores, a category that also saw New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut, take the second, third and fourth spots on the list, and the Bay State also took the top spot for math test scores; on that list New Hampshire was third. Massachusetts also was second for safest schools and tied with Connecticut for highest ACT test scores.

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