Compared to the other states in the U.S. and District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York public schools rank No. 2 and 26 respectively, according to a recent study done by WalletHub, a financial services website. Rather than focus primarily on academic outcomes or school finance, WalletHub’s study took a more comprehensive approach by also including such metrics as safety, class size, and instructor credentials.
These 21 metrics were then divided into two key dimensions—Quality and Safety—and graded on a 100-point scale (with 100 being the best). The metrics determining the quality of the school system include dropout rate, high school graduation rate among low-income students, math and reading test scores, student-to-teacher ratio, and number of licensed or certified K-12 teachers. The metrics determining the safety of the public school system include number of students not attending school due to safety concerns, number of injured or threatened students, number of armed high school students, bullying incidence rate, and youth incarceration rate.
Using the aforementioned metrics, of the 50 states and D.C., the study found that New Jersey’s public schools ranked at:
Quality: 2
Safety: 15
Overall ranking: 2
While New York public schools ranked at:
Quality: 20
Safety: 32
Overall ranking: 26
Other key rankings (out of 51) for the public schools in New Jersey and New York include:
| New Jersey | New York | |
| Student-to-teacher ratio | 3 | 11 |
| Dropout rate | 2 | 38 |
| High school graduation rate among low-income students | 8 | 35 |
|
Presence of public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s “Top 700 Best U.S. Schools” |
3 | 5 |
| Median SAT score | 34 | 40 |
| Bullying incidence rate | 24 | 25 |
| Youth incarceration rate | 8 | 12 |
| Number of students with access to illegal drugs | 48 | 30 |
| Number of students not attending school due to safety concerns | 15 | 32 |
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