WalletHub has released the latest edition of its report ranking the best and worst U.S. states for racial equality in education. The analysis compares Black-White disparities in high school and college attainment, test scores, and graduation rates in all 50 states.
With a score of 100 representing racial equality, the state education systems with the overall most racial equality were Wyoming (90.84), West Virginia (73.46), New Mexico (72.49), Oregon (63.94), and Kentucky (63.13). The overall worst states for racial equality in education were Wisconsin (14.65), Connecticut (26.72), New Jersey (28.08), Nebraska (29.34), and Minnesota (29.93).
The Black-White gaps in the share of adults with at least a high school degree were the smallest in Wyoming, Kentucky, and Texas, while the smallest gaps in bachelor’s degree attainment were found in Maine, Wyoming, and Oregon. In contrast, the largest gaps in the share of adults with at least a high school degree were in Minnesota, Idaho, and Iowa, and the largest gaps in bachelor’s degree attainment were in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Colorado.
Gaps between Black and White adults in overall standardized test scores are the lowest in Vermont, Alaska, and New Hampshire and the highest in Wisconsin, Connecticut, and California. Gaps in average ACT scores were lowest in New Mexico, New Hampshire, and West Virginia and highest in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Regarding mean SAT scores, Iowa, North Dakota, and New Hampshire were found to have the smallest racial gaps, while Ohio, California, and Montana had the highest gaps. According to the authors, the gap in mean SAT scores is 30 times worse in Ohio than it is in Iowa.
Hawaii has the lowest Black-White gap in public high school graduation rates, followed by Mississippi and Washington. In comparison, Wisconsin has the largest gap in public high school graduation rates, followed by Nebraska and North Dakota. The racial disparity in Wisconsin’s high school graduation rate is 12 times worse than Hawaii’s high school graduation rate.
