Here’s Why the #1 State for Public School Education Is New York

A national report determined the state that provides students the best possible public education is New York.

The Empire State is once again #1 in the country when it comes to its schools.

New York recently made waves in the newly updated U.S. News & World Report of the best universities and best liberal arts colleges in America.

A separate report by the same outlet also determined New York is home to some of the very best high schools in the country.

Read More: Top 10 Best New York High Schools According to US News Report

New York was also found to have some of the "most envied school districts" in the nation, according to a recent report and survey by Test Prep.

Another report by Teach Simple named the state's entire education system the fourth best in the entire country.

This dominance in the educational world is buoyed by the state's heavy investment into education and is among the states that offer the best teacher salaries in America.

On the other hand, big money also can sometimes mean big tuition fees, as one New York high school was named the most expensive in the nation. The price tag to attend THINK Global School in Manhattan costs roughly of $94,050 a year.

Despite this, many state parents say investing in their child's education is well worth the cost and will opt to send their kids to the best school they can afford.

While a private education does lead to some advantages, New York is ensuring that those who cannot afford such a steep tuition can still obtain a quality education in the public school system.

A report by USA TODAY confirmed New York spends $30,867 per student in its public educational system, which is the most out of any other state.

The outlet determined the states with the best and worst K-12 public school system in America and firmly placed New York in the #1 spot.

In order to finalize this ranking, the outlet pulled data beyond student spending and included research from the National Educational Association and a host of other sources.

Data included COVID relief between the 2022-2023 school years, teacher spending, daily attendance, student to teacher ratio, and employment within the school system.

New York dominated most of these categories. USA Today said the Empire State pays teachers an average salary of $92,696 a year, which is the second-highest in the nation.

The state also employs 215,761 teachers, which is the third highest number behind Texas and California.

Pair that with the 2,247,181 students that attend school daily, making it the fourth-best rate in the nation, the overall student to teacher ratio is 11 to 1, which is the third lowest in the nation.

Only Connecticut and Massachusetts have better ratio rates than New York.

However, out of a possible score of 100 based on all factors combined, New York obtained a perfect 100, or A+, according to USA Today.

As seen in other reports and rankings, the northeast decisively commanded the top 10, with 70% of the schools coming from the region.

Here's the current rankings for best public education systems.

1. New York
2. Massachusetts
3. Vermont
4. Connecticut
5. New Jersey
6. Rhode Island
7. Pennsylvania
8. Illinois
9. California
10. Wyoming

As for the states that need to work on their public education systems, that would be Arizona, Florida, and Nevada.

What are your thoughts on New York's schools? Are they worth the investment or do you interpret our state's dominance as something else when comparing it to how the rest of the nation did.

Let us know by giving us a shout using the station app's chat feature below.

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