2020’s Best States for Racial Equality in Education

Adam McCann, Financial Writer
Jun 24, 2020

It’s been decades since the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954, though it took years for schools to actually adopt that ruling. Now, no one can be denied enrollment in a school due to the color of their skin, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that educational conditions are equal for all students. A recent study found that school districts that have a high concentration of white students receive $23 billion more per year in funding than those that have a high concentration of non-white students. Lower funding can lead to lower quality education, which can affect not only a person’s income trajectory but also their career trajectory for the rest of their life.

In order to determine which states have the most racial equality in education at a time when protests against racism and inequality are happening all across the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states across six key metrics. Our data compares the difference between white and black Americans in areas such as high school and college degrees, test scores and graduation rates. Read on for the results and a full description of our methodology.

 

Main Findings

 

State Education Systems with the Most Racial Equality

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score
1	Wyoming	75.03
2	West Virginia	74.91
3	Montana	74.76
4	New Mexico	71.61
5	Idaho	71.52
6	New Hampshire	64.61
7	Vermont	63.78
8	Texas	59.76
9	Arizona	59.36
10	Oklahoma	59.08
11	Tennessee	56.98
12	Kentucky	56.66
13	Arkansas	54.26
14	North Dakota	53.71
15	Georgia	51.84
16	Hawaii	51.79
17	Delaware	50.28
18	Alabama	49.93
19	Oregon	49.66
20	Mississippi	49.42
21	Nevada	48.96
22	Maine	47.55
23	Indiana	47.16
24	Washington	46.41
25	Florida	45.67
26	North Carolina	45.26
27	Rhode Island	45.23
28	Missouri	44.11
29	California	42.75
30	Alaska	42.22
31	Louisiana	41.35
32	Utah	41.30
33	Maryland	39.66
34	Nebraska	39.10
35	Kansas	37.02
36	Michigan	36.86
37	Virginia	36.56
38	Colorado	36.30
39	Ohio	35.41
40	Iowa	35.04
41	New Jersey	34.70
42	South Carolina	33.29
43	Illinois	33.06
44	South Dakota	31.14
45	Massachusetts	29.71
46	New York	28.48
47	Pennsylvania	28.29
48	Connecticut	23.88
49	Minnesota	21.58
50	Wisconsin	13.44

*No. 1 = Most Equality

Methodology

In order to determine the states with the most racial equality in education, WalletHub compared the 50 states across six relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most equality. We determined the level of equality by subtracting the values attributed to white people and black people for a given metric, using only the most recent available data.

If in some states black people scored as high as or better than white people on a given metric, all such states were awarded the maximum number of points.

Finally, we determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

• Share of Adults with at Least a High School Degree: Half Weight (~9.09 Points)
  Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 and older.
• Share of Adults with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Double Weight (~36.36 Points)
  Note: “Adults” include the population aged 25 and older.
• Standardized-Test Scores: Full Weight (~18.18 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
• Mean SAT Score: Half Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Average ACT Score: Half Weight (~9.09 Points)
• Public High School Graduation Rate: Full Weight (~18.18 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, ACT and College Board.
 

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