Texas schools lag behind in national rankings, study finds

DALLAS (KDAF) — Every parent wants the best for their child’s education, but where in the U.S. can students access the strongest school systems? A new study from the University of Technology Sydney Online has revealed that Texas school systems are not near the top of the list.

The study analyzed all 50 states based on multiple education quality metrics, including standardized test scores, teacher qualifications, classroom sizes, school safety, and dropout rates.

Texas ranked 41st on the list, with low SAT and ACT scores, no digital learning plan, and a higher pupil to teacher ratio.

New Jersey lands first place, rankng second in reading (266) and third in math (282) among eighth graders, but it truly pulled ahead thanks to non-academic strengths. The Garden State boasts the lowest dropout rate in the country (1.1%) and reports just one firearm incident per 100,000 students, making it the safest state on this list.

At the bottom of the rankings are New Mexico, Alaska, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Nevada. These states scored poorly across a range of key metrics, including reading and math scores, SAT/ACT performance, dropout rates, and school safety.

Rank	State	Grade 8 Reading Scores	Grade 8 Math Scores	Average SAT Scores	Average ACT Score	Pupil to Teacher Ratio	Percentage of K–12 Teachers With No Teaching Certificate	High School Dropout Rates	Students With Firearms Per 100,000 Students	Digital Learning Plan	Total Score
1	New Jersey	266	282	1050	24.10	11.80	4.00%	1.10%	1.00	Yes	88.22
2	Massachusetts	268	283	1109	26.10	12.00	8.20%	1.70%	2.80	Yes	87.63
3	New Hampshire	264	280	1023	25.90	11.50	7.20%	1.10%	4.70	Yes	83.39
4	Connecticut	263	277	990	26.50	11.70	4.20%	1.20%	6.90	Yes	82.02
5	Wisconsin	260	283	1221	19.40	13.70	4.90%	1.70%	5.50	Yes	78.60
6	Pennsylvania	259	276	1075	24.30	13.30	4.20%	2.50%	2.40	Yes	74.68
7	Vermont	257	276	1097	23.60	10.50	4.20%	2.40%	8.30	Yes	73.81
8	South Dakota	260	281	1214	21.10	13.80	3.10%	2.20%	7.10	No	73.30
9	Minnesota	260	282	1215	20.70	15.50	5.50%	1.80%	8.00	No	71.15
10	Nebraska	256	280	1227	19.10	13.80	3.30%	1.60%	5.20	No	70.82
11	Virginia	256	275	1101	24.80	13.60	7.40%	1.80%	11.10	Yes	69.93
12	North Dakota	257	280	1229	19.60	12.40	3.70%	2.80%	2.60	No	69.77
13	Rhode Island	258	270	954	25.40	12.70	4.00%	2.90%	2.90	Yes	67.76
14	Maine	255	273	1074	25.00	11.40	8.20%	2.90%	4.60	Yes	67.34
15	Colorado	265	278	998	24.70	16.30	8.10%	3.20%	10.90	Yes	67.22
16	New York	257	271	1035	25.40	11.70	8.10%	2.50%	7.50	Yes	67.09
17	Iowa	261	275	1195	21.00	14.10	3.30%	2.60%	12.30	No	66.49
18	Indiana	262	278	969	23.30	15.80	3.50%	3.60%	9.60	Yes	66.23
19	Tennessee	259	276	1191	18.80	15.30	4.90%	2.00%	17.80	Yes	66.11
20	Kansas	255	274	1256	19.30	12.90	4.50%	2.10%	9.30	No	64.52
21	Missouri	255	270	1193	19.80	12.80	6.30%	1.90%	1.20	No	63.19
22	North Carolina	255	276	1161	18.50	15.40	7.30%	2.00%	10.50	Yes	62.83
23	Kentucky	258	271	1208	18.60	15.30	4.50%	1.80%	7.90	No	62.29
24	Illinois	262	277	966	24.50	13.70	11.90%	1.50%	29.20	Yes	62.07
25	Washington	259	274	1081	24.50	17.20	3.50%	4.10%	14.50	Yes	61.88
26	Maryland	258	268	998	24.70	14.30	8.10%	3.00%	3.70	Yes	61.85
27	Mississippi	253	269	1197	17.70	13.00	3.60%	2.50%	8.40	Yes	61.76
28	Ohio	260	279	1025	19.00	16.40	5.00%	3.80%	5.50	Yes	61.39
29	Wyoming	260	278	1253	19.10	12.60	4.30%	4.00%	19.30	No	60.37
30	Utah	261	282	1230	20.00	22.20	8.40%	4.10%	12.90	Yes	59.31
31	Montana	261	279	1204	19.50	13.70	9.60%	3.30%	15.30	No	59.18
32	California	254	269	1086	26.50	21.80	5.80%	2.60%	10.00	Yes	59.06
33	Hawaii	257	270	1124	17.70	14.20	6.70%	3.30%	2.30	Yes	58.87
34	Delaware	249	263	948	25.00	14.20	7.00%	1.70%	5.00	Yes	57.04
35	Idaho	261	278	998	23.30	17.50	4.80%	5.60%	2.50	No	54.68
36	Georgia	259	269	1039	21.20	14.40	8.30%	3.50%	16.70	Yes	54.05
37	Oregon	255	268	1117	21.10	18.70	5.90%	3.30%	13.90	Yes	52.96
38	West Virginia	247	261	919	20.40	13.50	4.30%	1.30%	5.50	Yes	52.82
39	Arkansas	255	266	1188	18.50	12.70	4.50%	2.70%	19.60	No	52.03
40	Michigan	255	270	965	24.50	16.70	4.90%	4.90%	10.80	Yes	51.79
41	Texas	252	269	971	19.40	14.80	7.30%	2.00%	6.20	No	49.79
42	Florida	253	267	948	19.00	18.30	8.30%	1.70%	9.00	Yes	49.66
43	South Carolina	254	268	1015	18.70	14.10	9.10%	2.20%	23.20	Yes	48.60
44	Louisiana	257	267	1195	18.20	17.50	4.90%	3.30%	21.40	No	46.92
45	Alabama	250	262	1157	18.00	17.90	4.30%	1.70%	30.30	Yes	45.79
46	Nevada	253	265	1180	17.20	21.00	12.30%	2.70%	10.70	Yes	43.51
47	Arizona	254	270	1185	17.70	22.80	15.40%	4.00%	2.60	Yes	42.06
48	Oklahoma	249	264	966	17.60	16.60	4.50%	3.00%	5.00	No	40.87
49	Alaska	246	264	1079	19.90	18.30	5.60%	4.20%	6.90	No	37.51
50	New Mexico	245	256	885	20.00	14.60	12.70%	4.40%	24.30	Yes	22.92