Racial equality in education: Why these states are in the top 10

What are the building blocks of racial equality in education?

The most important metrics include gaps in high school graduation rates, standardized test scores and the percentage of adults with high school and college diplomas, according to a new survey by the personal finance website WalletHub.

For example, Hawaii has the narrowest gap in graduation rates between white and Black students. That divide is 12 times lower than in Wisconsin, the state with the widest gap. And districts with higher concentrations of white students receive $23 million more in funding than school systems that predominantly serve students of color.

“Recent years have brought increases in racial isolation within schools and an increase in the number of racially identifiable schools,” says Crystal Renee Chambers, a professor of educational leadership at East Carolina University who served as an expert for the survey. “Given correlations between race and wealth with attendant reliance on local property taxes to fund education, there is a racially identifiable impact on school funding.”

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Legacies of slavery, segregation and racial violence have been compounded by discriminatory housing, lending and employment practices as well as disparities in health care, adds Ann Marcus, a professor of higher education at New York University.

All of these issues continue to thwart efforts to achieve racial equality in education. “Racial disparities begin with poverty and disadvantage that has deep historic roots, especially for Black children,” Marcus explains. ‘We expect schooling to lead to greater equity but that is often hampered by low-income neighborhoods having under-financed schools and the least experienced teachers.”

Racial equality in education rankings

Here is where all 50 states rank, from best to worst, with scores for lowest achievement gaps:

1. New Mexico—77.24
2. Wyoming—76.47
3. West Virginia—75.28
4. Oregon—66.02
5. Vermont—62.79
6. Hawaii—62.11
7. Kentucky—60.38
8. Texas—58.32
9. Arizona—58.26
10. Oklahoma—57.03
11. Maine—56.56
12. Delaware—55.72
13. Montana—54.15
14. Arkansas—53.50
15. Georgia—53.46
16. Tennessee—52.60
17. New Hampshire—52.51
18. Alabama—51.30
19. Mississippi—50.93
20. Indiana—50.18
21. Alaska—49.00
22. Nevada—48.70
23. North Dakota—48.25
24. Washington—48.13
25. South Dakota—47.58
26. Idaho—47.31
27. Rhode Island—44.92
28. Florida—43.74
29. North Carolina—43.72
30. California—42.80
31. Utah—39.91
32. Iowa—39.72
33. Louisiana—38.47
34. Kansas—38.21
35. Maryland—38.05
36. Missouri—36.78
37. Virginia—34.61
38. Colorado—34.26
39. Michigan—34.21
40. Ohio—32.38
41. Massachusetts—31.88
42. New Jersey—31.46
43. South Carolina—31.12
44. Illinois—30.00
45. Pennsylvania—29.23
46. Nebraska—29.06
47. New York—27.10
48. Connecticut—21.45
49. Minnesota—18.96
50. Wisconsin—12.60