2020’s Most & Least Educated States in America

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 01/22/2020 at 15:42 • Filed to: None

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As long as there is so much discussion about moving (or not moving) to Austin, maybe educating yourselves or your kids is part of the equation. Here’s a study of the most and least educated states, as well as a ranking of the quality of that education. Judging by Texas’ ranking on how many of us hold high school diplomas, I would guess that our ever-so-slightly better numbers in higher education are because so many non-Texans come to school here. 

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JustAnotherG6 > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 15:56

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WOOOHOOO! we’re # 4!

ttyymmnn > JustAnotherG6 01/22/2020 at 15:58

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Which category?

For Sweden > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:00

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Apparently a Montana high school diploma is about the same as a C alifornia college degree.

smobgirl > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:02

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I’m a little surprised to see Alaska i n the top 5 for high school diplomas. 

ttyymmnn > smobgirl 01/22/2020 at 16:06

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I’m surprised to see TX in the basement for HS diplomas. 

Derpwagon > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:06

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I may only have a high school diploma, but I still ended up in a corporate setting handling logistics for the 2nd largest importer in the country. Not always about the piece of paper. 

smobgirl > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:09

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I’m less surprised than you, but probably because I’ve been to  a lot of public housing complexes in rural Texas.

ttyymmnn > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 16:09

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Lots of places require the paper just to get in the door. I have a doctorate in playing trumpet, and I had planned on getting a college teaching job. One of the places I interviewed told me that they take all the people with doctorates and put them in one pile, and then start with that pile. They may never get to the others, regardless of the experience of those people. It’s a shitty system, but it makes the schools look better to have more PhDs on their faculty.

Derpwagon > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:13

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I don’t disagree that lots of places still want the paper. All I’m saying is it’s not always about it.

In my case, it was a ‘who I knew’, plus a ton of military experience in a field that translated pretty well to logistics analysis. 

notsomethingstructural > For Sweden 01/22/2020 at 16:13

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When you consider how empty Montana is and the caliber of jobs likely available, and then consider how dense much of California is and the caliber of jobs likely available, that’s probably true.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:18

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It’s interesting to note that the two lowest ranking states in High School Di plomas are big agricultural states which have the highest rates of immigration (illegal or otherwise). Mississippi, Louisiana, and New Mexico really don’t have a good excuse.

jimz > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 16:19

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are they an exporter too?

benn454 > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:19

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Wow, Mississippi isn’t the worst in anything for once.

 Good for them.

facw > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:19

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I would assume that like CA, it’s skewed by large immigrant populations who never had that opportunity (but whose kids will) .

Texas actually has one of the highest high school graduation rates:

  https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=805

Of course graduation rate alone doesn’t tell you anything about the quality of those graduates, I suspect it may be easier to graduate in Texas than some other states (but I haven’t gone looking for data on that). Also I really thought these numbers would be higher at this point, not even having a high school degree doesn’t guarantee  failure, but it’s certainly putting people in a terrible place.

dogisbadob > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 16:20

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It could depend on age, too. Older people could easily get a good job with just a HS diploma

A lot of companies require a college degree for jobs that could be done with a HS diploma or even an 8th-grade education. Even if the person doing that job now doesn’ t have one , companies will want their replacements to have a degree.

benn454 > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:22

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 And for lots of people, they wind up with a framed piece of paper, a job at Starbucks, and tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

ttyymmnn > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 16:25

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“who I knew”

I got a final round interview at three universities, and in each one of those cases I had a personal connection to somebody on the committee. Ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t get any of those jobs. I’m much happier doing what I’m doing now. 

ttyymmnn > benn454 01/22/2020 at 16:28

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I have a framed doctorate over my desk that serves no purpose per se beyond collecting dust. However, the time I spent earning it certainly went into my personal and professional development, and I’m a better player for it. I was also wildly fortunate to get through three degrees with no debt through a combination of scholarships, instate tuition, and a wife who helped me pay for it all. 

Derpwagon > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:30

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As long as you like what you do now then it all worked out for the best :)

Derpwagon > dogisbadob 01/22/2020 at 16:31

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It definitely could. However I’m in my early 30s and started here in my late 20s. 

Derpwagon > jimz 01/22/2020 at 16:32

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Not so much. 

M.T. Blake > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:36

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If no one gets a high school diploma, yet the universities are excellent... 

dogisbadob > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 16:37

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I saw your other responses about it being who you knew. That makes the difference

benn454 > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 16:37

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 Very fortunate, indeed. 

Derpwagon > dogisbadob 01/22/2020 at 16:40

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Agreed. 

facw > benn454 01/22/2020 at 16:52

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They are of course the only state on all five of the bottom five lists though.

Mississippi: The Worst State™  

jimz > Derpwagon 01/22/2020 at 17:00

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I recommend looking into VanDelay Industries. They’re an importer/exporter

dogisbadob > jimz 01/22/2020 at 17:10

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VanDelay, is that like George Costanza, or a really slow van? :p

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 17:12

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I don’t like studies that don’t explain their findings. Does California have the lowest number of HS diplomas based on pure numbers? Or does it account for the differing populations between states ? Basically, ‘ x diploma s per 100,000' or just ‘ x diploma s out of total population’ ?

They also fail to mention how a few of the lowest HS diploma states will have a lot of undocumented immigrants who may not carry said diplomas. That - obviously - isn’t exactly a failure of their education systems.

In all, I’m disappointed that they stacked the deck with experts but published such an uninformative result.

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 17:15

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Don’t be. It seems like they just took a look at population then took a look at how much of said population has a HS diploma, then nothing else.

Well, how many of those without diplomas are children (and thus not eligible) or a member of the massive immigrant population? But they didn’t seem to publish any additional nuance behind their findings, so it’s just a guessing game.

Derpwagon > jimz 01/22/2020 at 17:19

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Never really got into Seinfeld.

TRivet > jimz 01/22/2020 at 17:33

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Vandelay Industries? 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 17:43

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Yeah Montana, we smart!

ttyymmnn > Mercedes Streeter 01/22/2020 at 18:32

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Did you see the link to their methodology ? Might have some answers there.

benn454 > facw 01/22/2020 at 18:46

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 Alabama: At Least We’re Not Mississippi

Mercedes Streeter > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 18:52

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I did. the only answer that’s relevant is:

Share of Adults Aged 25 Years and Older with at Least a High School Diploma: Full Weight (~15.00 Points)

Which....is a strange metric. Why not start it at high school graduation age?

At any rate, this assumes they pulled the share of adults 25 and older with at least a HS diploma vs the full population of the state. I feel like this data would be more reliable  if they looked at this from various data points.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 19:07

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I’m surprised Delaware doesn’t rank worse. The wealthier areas of New Castle County must be throwing off the average, as usual.

jimz > ttyymmnn 01/22/2020 at 19:29

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and thus you have the perverted system of “requirements inflation” we have today.

“We’re hiring for an ‘administrative assistant’ position.  We take all of the people with 4-year degrees and put them in one pile, and trash the rest.”

JustAnotherG6 > ttyymmnn 01/23/2020 at 10:35

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The first 2. Highest % of HS diploma & Highest % of AS degrees.