Table 4: Education (Average SAT and ACT Scores Ranked)(1999): Not to Be Taken Too Seriously!

[Note: Much to my annoyance, this chart--intended to be a crude performance measure of educational success as part of a large number of arbitrarily and capriciously chosen indicators of "state enlightenment" has somehow been drawn into the controversy over whether Wisconsin teachers should or should not be deprived of their collective bargaining rights.  Wisconsin did come out well (#2) and most states--usually southern--without collective bargaining fare poorly on this outdated--1999, folks!--chart, but I hope visitors understand this does not purport in any way to be a scientific analysis.  The scores below reflect participation rates that vary dramatically from state to state, and states with low participation rates (reflectly the efforts of only the more serious college-bound students) will tend to score higher.  That said, I'd eat my hat if students in areas that do well, such as the Upper Midwest, don't have a better comprehension of subjects tested on the ACT and SAT than do students in most of the southern and southwestern states. Please visit the   State Enlightenment Rankings to get a better view of the intended purpose of this little exercise.]

 

  State Enlightenment Rankings