State Rankings

Learn more about how states measure up in school finance, student achievement, and socioeconomic factors affecting long-term student success

Special Reports

Quality Counts
Quality Counts was Education Week’s annual report card grading the nation and the states on their performance in K-12 education.
A white man looks up as he leans on a red ladder against a tall stack of coins
E+/Getty
Education Funding How School Funding Falls Short, by the Numbers
See how states measure up in an annual report on state school funding and equity.
Mark Lieberman, December 28, 2022
1 min read
Food service assistant Brenda Bartee, rear, gives students breakfast, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, during the first day of school at Washington Elementary School in Riviera Beach, Fla.
Food service assistant Brenda Bartee, rear, gives students breakfast last August at Washington Elementary School in Riviera Beach, Fla.
Wilfredo Lee/AP
Recruitment & Retention School Support Staffers Don't Make a Living Wage. Here's a Comparison by State
The average full-time paraprofessional or other support worker makes $32,837 a year, a National Education Association analysis finds.
Madeline Will, May 3, 2022
2 min read
Photography of stacked coins.
small smiles/Getty
Teaching Profession Teacher Salaries Aren't Keeping Up With Inflation. See How Your State Compares
Teachers are making less now than they did a decade ago, according to an inflation-adjusted analysis by the National Education Association.
Madeline Will, April 26, 2022
3 min read
Close up of a psychologist with a clipboard and taking notes and a student's knees in the background - stock photo
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being Data Data: Does Your State Have Enough School Psychologists and Counselors?
Education Week examined ratios of school psychologists and counselors to students across the country. 
Maya Riser-Kositsky, March 28, 2022
2 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Map: A-F Grades, Rankings for States on School Quality
Here’s a map showing grades for all the states on this year’s Quality Counts summative report card, on which the nation gets a C overall.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Nation Gets a 'C' on Latest School Quality Report Card, While N.J. Again Boasts Top Grade
A slight increase in this year's Quality Counts score isn't enough to boost the nation's school system above last year's middling grade.
Sterling C. Lloyd & Alex Harwin, September 1, 2021
8 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center State Grades on K-12 Achievement: 2021 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on K-12 achievement, along with how they scored on a host of indicators.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Quality Counts Special Report Quality Counts 2021: Grading the States
See how the nation and the states score on this year's comprehensive report card for the nation’s schools.
September 1, 2021
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
Student Achievement From Our Research Center Schools Straddle the Pandemic and Familiar Headwinds in Quest to Boost Quality
The latest Quality Counts summative grades show stubbornly average performance by the nation's schools overall, despite pockets of promise.
September 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
States From Our Research Center A User’s Guide to the Grading and Methodology
Here's a quick and easy guide to the grading scale and each of the indicators that go into making up the 50-state grades for school finance.
EdWeek Research Center, June 1, 2021
4 min read
Illustration of school building and dollar symbol
iStock/Getty
Quality Counts Special Report Quality Counts 2021: School Finance
This Quality Counts 2021 installment grades the nation and states on school finance and surveys educators' fiscal pressures and priorities.
June 1, 2021
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
States From Our Research Center State Grades on School Finance: 2021 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on school finance, along with how they scored on a host of indicators.
EdWeek Research Center, June 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
Education Funding From Our Research Center Nation Earns a 'C' on School Finance, Reflecting Inconsistency in K-12 Funding and Equity
The Edweek Research Center's latest analysis finds a gulf in many states between per-pupil spending and how that K-12 money goes out.
6 min read
Teacher Salary Rankings 04262021 943331302
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession Teacher Salaries Are Increasing. See How Your State Compares
The National Education Association warns that some of the progress in teacher pay could be jeopardized by the pandemic.
Madeline Will, April 26, 2021
2 min read