Maryland is ranked no. 1 for education equality. Where does your state rank?

Girls earn higher scores in reading than boys in every state, and that gap increases at higher grade levels.

That’s according to the latest analysis on education equality released by U.S. News this week. The report sought to observe gender disparities in K-12 and higher education in each state.

Fourth-grade girls outperform boys in reading nationally by seven points, eighth-grade girls by 11 points, and 12th-grade girls by 13 points. In contrast, fourth-grade boys outperform girls in math test scores; although that disparity shrinks at higher grade levels as girls’ test scores improve.

Fourth-grade boys nationally outperform girls in math test scores by only three points. In eighth grade, the gap is less than one point.

The report also provides a ranked list indicating how large gender disparities are in each state.

Distinctions were measured using two metrics: four-year college graduation rates among men and women, and eighth-grade math and reading test scores among boys and girls. The results indicate that northeastern states, the West Coast and states that border the Great Lakes rank the highest on the list.

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The top three states, meaning those with the fewest education disparities between men and women, are Maryland (#1), Indiana (#2) and Illinois (#3). The bottom three states are Arkansas (#48), Idaho (#49) and Alabama (#50).

Here are the rankings for all states:

1. Maryland
2. Indiana
3. Illinois
4. Oregon
5. Iowa
6. Michigan
7. Colorado
8. Rhode Island
9. New Jersey
10. Nevada
11. Florida
12. Maine
13. New Hampshire
14. Delaware
15. Ohio
16. Nebraska
17. Alaska
18. North Dakota
19. Massachusetts
20. Pennsylvania
21. Louisiana
22. New York
23. Wisconsin
24. California
25. Hawaii
26. Arizona
27. Connecticut
28. Mississippi
29. South Carolina
30. Washington
31. Texas
32. Kansas
33. Oklahoma
34. Minnesota
35. Georgia
36. Tennessee
37. Montana
38. Wyoming
39. Missouri & North Carolina (tied)
40. Utah
41. Kentucky
42. Virginia
43. West Virginia
44. South Dakota
45. New Mexico
46. Vermont
47. Arkansas
48. Idaho
49. Alabama

It’s important to mention that this list represents how each state ranks based on the average of the two metrics: test scores and college graduation rates. Some states rank higher once those metrics are isolated.

Focusing on test scores only, the top three states with the fewest gender disparities in education are Maryland (#1), Florida (#2) and New Jersey (#3).

The lowest ranking three are North Carolina (#48), Virginia (#49) and Alabama (#50).

Shifting to college graduation rates, the top three states are Indiana (#1), New Hampshire (#2) and Maryland (#3).

The lowest ranking states are Vermont (#48), Utah (#49) and Idaho (#50).