High graduation rates, school engagement and low student-teacher ratios are just several indicators of a happy, healthy public school. A new ranking reveals which states excel in these areas.
New Jersey is the state with the overall happiest and healthiest schools, according to research from Soliant Health, a healthcare and education staffing agency. The percentage of students who bullied others is the second-lowest in the nation and the state is the third-highest for students who said they’ve never been bullied.
Additionally, New Jersey averages 11.8 students per classroom, boasting the fifth-best student-teacher ratio nationwide.
Colorado, on the other hand, ranked last for happy and healthy schools. According to the research, bullying is significantly higher than in other states. It’s the state with the fourth-highest percentage of students who admitted to bullying others.
Now, let’s break down the top 10 states for happy and healthy schools:
- New Jersey
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Nebraska
- New York
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Pennsylvania
- Iowa
- Connecticut
Take a look at the full report here.
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Methodology
The researchers gathered national data to calculate these rankings based on these 10 categories:
- High school graduation rate (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2021).
- Student-teacher ratio (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education”).
- “Bullied others” (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- “Was bullied” (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- Love for learning (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- Friendships (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- School engagement (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- Physical activity (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
- Access to mental health professionals (Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education,” 1990-91 through 2022-23).
- Involvement in extracurricular activities (Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau).
