Texas: 10th Least Educated Population in U.S.

A recent WalletHub study put Texas near the bottom of its list ranking the 50 states by how educated their populations are.

Texas came in at No.41 on the organization’s list, making it the 10th-least educated state in the country by WalletHub’s calculations.

“In order to determine the most and least educated states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, Educational Attainment and Quality of Education,” reads the study’s methodology blurb.

The scores for the two categories were further broken down into weighted metrics like “Share of Adults Aged 25 and Older with at Least a High School Diploma,” “Blue Ribbon Schools per Capita,” and “Enrolled Students in Top Universities per Capita.”

The study found that Texas ranked 42nd in Educational Attainment and 17th in Quality of Education, resulting in an overall ranking of No.41.

One of the most notable details from the study is that Texas ranks 49th in population percentage of high-school diploma holders, with California bringing up the rear at No.50.

As disturbing as that last metric is, it should come as no surprise as the state’s two biggest school districts, Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and Houston Independent School District (HISD), continue to log poor on-time graduation rates and high dropout rates.

The Dallas Express reached out to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas State Teachers Association for comment but did not receive a response from either by press time.

Based on the latest TEA accountability reports for the 2021-2022 school year, HISD — the Lone Star State’s biggest school system — had an on-time graduation rate of 85.7% and a dropout rate of 4%.

DISD, however, produced even worse results, with an 81.1% on-time graduation rate and a 4.5% dropout rate.

As previously reported in The Dallas Express, a ranking of the top six big-city Texas counties found Dallas County in last place, mainly because of the large number of DISD school campuses that received failing scores from the TEA last school year.

Despite the talent and dedication of the district’s hardworking teachers, DISD has struggled for years with student achievement outcomes, which a September poll conducted by The Dallas Express found a plurality of respondents attributed to mismanagement by district leaders.