New Jersey Schools Are 2nd Best In America, Study Says

One new study is confirming what we hear parents and legislators say all the time: While not perfect, New Jersey has among the very best school systems in America.

Personal finance website WalletHub used 21 metrics to measure quality and safety, giving New Jersey a second-place overall ranking.

Massachusetts finished with a total quality/safety score of 78.16. Second-place New Jersey had a 66.92, and third-place New Hampshire and Wisconsin had scores of 64.25.

New Jersey was ranked second-highest in quality, while falling to 15th in safety, according to WalletHub.

The state fared well in categories such as dropout rate (second lowest), math scores, (fourth highest), reading scores (fifth highest) and lowest pupil-teacher ratio (third lowest).

You can see more details of the WalletHub study, including the methodology, here.

Here is the whole list:

1. Massachusetts 78.16
2. New Jersey 66.92
3. New Hampshire 64.65
4. Wisconsin 64.25
5. Vermont 64.09
6. Virginia 63.77
7. Minnesota 62.68
8. Connecticut 61.31
9. Iowa 61.06
10. Maine 59.93
11. Illinois 58.32
12. Delaware 58.09
13. North Carolina 57.68
14. Colorado 56.28
15. Kansas 56.24
16. Pennsylvania 56.10
17. Utah 55.95
18. Oklahoma 55.22
19. Maryland 54.79
20. North Dakota 54.67
21. Florida 54.02
22. Indiana 54.00
23. Ohio 53.51
24. Washington 53.36
25. Rhode Island 52.96
26. New York 52.52
27. Kentucky 51.58
28. California 51.45
29. Montana 51.40
30. Nebraska 51.22
31. Missouri 50.94
32. Michigan 50.55
33. Wyoming 50.40
34. Texas 49.15
35. South Carolina 48.58
36. Idaho 47.44
37. South Dakota 47.40
38. Georgia 47.32
39. Hawaii 47.23
40. Nevada 40.99
41. Arizona 40.91
42. Tennessee 40.58
43. Oregon 40.38
44. Alabama 39.06
45. Alaska 38.20
46. Arkansas 37.97
47. Mississippi 35.99
48. District of Columbia 35.85
49. West Virginia 35.42
50. New Mexico 34.79
51. Louisiana 27.42

Patch file photo