A recent report ranked the school systems of each state in the United States and Washington, D.C. from best to worst. Where did California land?
WalletHub, a personal finance company, released its report for the best and worst school systems for 2026.
The site looked at the K-12 school systems for each state and D.C. and compared them across 32 measures of quality and safety, a WalletHub news release said.
Quality looked at factors such as median test scores, graduation rate and dropout rates. Safety looked at factors including bullying, number of school shootings and youth incarceration. All aspects were added together, with quality carrying a higher weight compared to safety.
Given California’s vast population and diverse school systems, how did it fare?
Does California have a good school system?
California ranked in the bottom half of the list in WalletHub’s report, falling at No. 31.
It ranked high in some aspects, such as first in having a digital learning plan, second in the percentage of threatened or injured high school students, and third in median ACT scores.
It did rank at the very bottom in pupil-to-teacher ratio, 40th in math test scores, and 39th in bullying incident rate.
What are the best school systems in the U.S.?
According to WalletHub’s report, the states with the five best school systems in the U.S. are:
What are the worst school systems in the U.S.?
According to WalletHub’s report, the states with the five worst school systems in the U.S. are:
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Recent report ranks state school systems. Where does California land?
Reporting by Ernesto Centeno Araujo, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ernesto Centeno Araujo, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
