WASHINGTON – Virginia’s school system is one of the best in the country, according to a new report by WalletHub.

The personal-finance website released its 2024 report on the best and worst school systems across the U.S. this week. Virginia secured the ninth position nationally, down from fifth in 2023.

The report compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety, including pupil-teacher ratio, dropout rate, and median standardized-test scores.

According to the study, Virginia performs well in ensuring that low-income students graduate from high school, ranking 13th nationally.

The rankings show the state is positioned for positive growth in high school graduation rates over the next decade.

While math scores are decent at number 15th, there’s room for improvement in reading, which ranks 28th, according to the report. Virginia excels in preparing students for AP exams, ranking tenth in the U.S.

The state ranked 18th nationally for pupil-teacher ratio, with numbers indicating a reasonable balance between student enrollment and teacher availability.

Virginia also ranks well in terms of safety, with low incidence rates of violence, bullying, and threats. The state also has a high percentage of parents who believe their children attend safe schools.

FULL REPORT: States with the Best & Worst School Systems (2024)

BUNNELL, Fl. — An 11-year-Virginia boy is charged in Florida with calling in more than 20 bomb or shooting threats to schools and other places, authorities said Thursday.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said during a news conference that authorities worked hard to find the caller before the school year resumed.

“This kid’s behavior was escalating and becoming more dangerous,” Staly said. “I’m glad we got him before he escalated out of control and hurt someone.”

Swatting is slang for making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to send a SWAT team or other armed police officers to a particular place.

Flagler County emergency services initially received a bomb threat at Buddy Taylor Middle School on May 14, officials said. Additional threats were made between then and May 22. Flagler County is in central Florida on the state’s Atlantic coast.

Investigators tracked the calls to a home in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside Richmond. Local deputies searched the home this month, and the 11-year-old boy who lived there admitted to placing the Florida swatting calls, as well as a threat made to the Maryland State House, authorities said. Investigators later determined that the boy also made swatting calls in Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Alaska.

The boy faces 29 felony counts and 14 misdemeanors, officials said. He’s being held in a Virginia juvenile detention facility while Florida officials arrange for his extradition. Investigators didn’t immediately say whether the boy had a connection to Florida.

A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Florida in May, several days after the initial call, for making a copycat threat to Buddy Taylor Middle School, officials said.

This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.

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