Wyoming Scores In The Top 10 For Best Public Schools In The Nation

The Cowboy State generally does well when compared to the rest of the country, but scoring in the top tier is always worth a little bragging rights. Thus is the case with our public school system.

According to a recent study conducted by 24/7 Wall St, Wyoming ranked seventh out of all fifty states. As a matter of fact, we were the only state entirely located west of the Mississippi River with a public school system that ranks among the nation’s 10 best.

The study states:

While the connection between school spending and educational outcomes is a matter for debate, Wyoming allocates a larger than typical share of its budget to its public school system. Some 4.7% of Wyoming’s taxable resources goes towards education — higher than the average spending across all states of 3.3% and the fourth largest share among states. Partially as a result, every public school student in the state benefits from greater spending on a per pupil basis than the national average.

Wyoming public school students are also more likely than most to meet some important achievement targets. For example, 41.2% of fourth graders in the state are proficient in reading, and 35.3% of eighth graders are proficient in math, compared to the respective 34.8% and 32.1% shares nationwide.

The top five states (in order of ranking) are:

1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. Vermont
4. New Hampshire
5. Connecticut

The bottom five (in descending order) are:

1. Louisiana
2. Idaho
3. Mississippi
4. New Mexico
5. Nevada