Idaho’s school system ranks about average, according to an analysis of the best and worst school systems in the country conducted by WalletHub.com, a site traditionally focused on financial analysis and comparisons.
WalletHub.com studied the quality of education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia by mining data on 12 metrics — from student-teacher ratios and dropout rates to test scores and bullying incident rates.
Idaho ranked 27th overall, well behind No. 1 New Jersey and Western states Washington and Utah. Idaho outranked California and Nevada.
“It’s a good time to reflect on which school districts offer the greatest chance for children’s academic success — and high future earning potential,” wrote Richie Bernardo in an August article highlighting the results for WalletHub.com.
Idaho was dinged in this report for being one of the five states in the country with the highest bullying incident rate.
Idaho also was recognized as being a state that is low spending with a weak school system. Bernardo wrote: “In comparing schools, it’s important to recognize that though the amount of state funding a school receives can be helpful, it is by no means a determinant of quality.”
Click here for an interactive map and the methodology behind the report.
Wallethub is the same website that recently declared Idaho the 12th best state in the nation to be a teacher. Gov. Butch Otter has touted these results in his re-election campaign, but Wallethub’s own rankings showed Idaho to have mixed marks as a teacher-friendly state.
