(WVNS) — A study released on Monday, July 26 named West Virginia as one of the states with the worst school systems.
According to the study by WalletHub, more than half of educators reported significant learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety in order to determine the best school systems in the United States. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores. Here is a look at how the Mountain State fared:
| Overall Rank 44 | State West Virginia | Total Score 38.47 | Quality 45 | Safety 17 |
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Here is the ranking for the best and worst school systems in America:
| States with the Best School Systems | States with the Worst School Systems |
| 1. Massachusetts | 42. Oregon |
| 2. Connecticut | 43. South Carolina |
| 3. New Jersey | 44. West Virginia |
| 4. Virginia | 45. Mississippi |
| 5. New Hampshire | 46. Oklahoma |
| 6. Maryland | 47. Alabama |
| 7. Delaware | 48. Alaska |
| 8. Nebraska | 49. Arizona |
| 9. Wisconsin | 50. Louisiana |
| 10. Vermont | 51. New Mexico |
Best vs. Worst
- Alabama has the lowest dropout rate, 8.30 percent, which is 3.7 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at 31.10 percent.
- Vermont has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, 10.83, which is 2.2 times lower than in Arizona, the highest at 23.56.
- Massachusetts has the lowest share of high school students who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, 4.50 percent, which is 2.8 times lower than in Louisiana, the highest at 12.40 percent.
- The District of Columbia has the lowest share of high school students who were bullied online, 8.90 percent, which is 2.3 times lower than in New Hampshire, the highest at 20.10 percent.
