Massachusetts

Where does MA rank in public education? A Consumer Affairs study looks at each state

Published

3 months ago

September 25, 2024

Where does MA rank in public education? A Consumer Affairs study looks at each state

A study by Consumer Affairs found that Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country.

Massachusetts, which ranked first on the Consumer Affairs study, is followed by New York (2), New Jersey (3), Washington State (4) and Pennsylvania (5). The study covered K-12 schools and colleges as well.

The top states for education have a few things in common, according to the study, “including a 90% or higher high school graduation rate, low pupil-to-teacher ratios and high test scores. The majority of these states are also located in the Northeast.”

According to the study, “to determine the states with the best public schools in the U.S., the Consumer Affairs research team compared all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., across four categories: K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher education quality and safety.”

Why did the study rank Massachusetts at the top

The following are different takeaways about public education in Massachusetts, according to the Consumer Affairs study:

The state boasts the highest high school graduation rate in the U.S. at 96.1%.
Massachusetts ties Connecticut for having the highest average ACT score (26.4 out of a highest possible score of 36). The national average is 19.5. ACT tests are standardized tests used for college admissions in the United States.
Massachusetts has the best fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores in the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests.
On average, Massachusetts teachers have the third-highest teaching salary in the country, at $92,307 per year, 33% above the national average.
The state dedicates $25,826 in expenditures per K-12 student, the fifth-highest in the nation.

How did Massachusetts rank for school safety?

The study noted that the Bay State ranks 34th in the country for school safety.

South Dakota ranked highest in school safety.

According to the study, the safety score is based on three metrics: whether the state has a school safety board as of 2022, the number of gun violence incidents at all schools per 100,000 students from 2022 to 2024 and the number of reported criminal offenses at colleges per 10,000 students in 2022.

What are the top 10 states for public education?

The top 10 states for public education are:

Massachusetts (1)
New York (2)
New Jersey (3)
Washington (4)
Pennsylvania (5)
Vermont (6)
Minnesota (7)
Connecticut (8)
Virginia (9)
Wisconsin (10)

Which states ranked poorly for public education?

The bottom five states in the study are:

Arizona (51)
Alabama (50)
New Mexico (49)
Oklahoma (48)
Idaho (47)

Where do other New England states rank in the study?

Maine is ranked 13th overall, Rhode Island is ranked 15th overall and New Hampshire is ranked 16th overall.

Source link

Click to comment

Massachusetts

Obituary for Michael L. Boucher at Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home

Published

50 minutes ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Obituary for Michael L. Boucher at Crapo-Hathaway Funeral Home

TAUNTON- Michael L. Boucher, 56, passed away unexpectedly home on December 13, 2024. Michael was born in Taunton and was the son of the late Robert Boucher and Kathleen Palmer Boucher. Michael was a graduate of Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical High School. After school, he began a lifelong career in construction,

Source link

Massachusetts

Showers and flurries this week, but will we have snow on Christmas?

Published

9 hours ago

December 16, 2024

Press Room

Showers and flurries this week, but will we have snow on Christmas?

We had a little taste of true winter in southwestern New England on Monday morning as a quick moving system passed south of us. Temperatures were cold enough to support 1-2 inches of snow in parts of western Massachusetts and Connecticut and a coating of snow in northern Rhode Island.

Even though it was cold enough for some snow, it wasn’t as cold as on this date in 1835. New England has one of the coldest days on record, with Boston at -4 at noontime, then falling to -12 by sunset. Norfolk, Connecticut, was only -15, while Hanover, New Hampshire, was at -17.

As our temperatures warm up a bit on Monday, we keep a shower chance in, but are no longer expecting icy spots later in the day, as highs reach the upper 30s and 40s. The cold air is more stubborn in the valleys, so only there is where we might find some lingering icy roads.

Overnight, a surge of warmth kicks up our temps to the 40s and 50s south on a gusty south wind. Scattered rain moves through overnight and into the Tuesday morning commute. The showers move out by midday as a west wind keeps us in the 40s and 50s for highs on a westerly breeze.

The milder temperatures and dry afternoons will make for decent conditions to keep hanging those holiday lights.

As temperatures slowly drop into the 40s again for midweek, we expect rain in Boston and for areas south of the Massachusetts Turnpike for Wednesday night into Thursday. Northern New England will see light snowfall, with another elevation-driven storm.

Arctic air spills in across the northeast after Friday as we drop to highs around freezing, then 20s on Saturday and teens for some on Sunday. We dry off during this timeframe leading up to Christmas. Temperatures stay cool in the 30s, with no significant signal for Christmas snow in the forecast… for now.

Source link