20 Dumbest States in America By SAT Scores

Published on January 17, 2018 at 9:29 am by Aleksandar Jevtic in Lists

Can we rate 20 dumbest states in America by SAT scores their students achieve? Many ordinary people would answer positively to this question, but there are plenty of experts that don’t agree that lack of academic success equals lesser intelligence.

SAT scores have been alpha and omega of academic achievements in the United States for decades. Designed as a tool that would help both students and colleges with the admission process, SAT has passed through various changes and is still evolving to better reflect the individual students’ aptitude and college readiness. Yet, in the last decade, there has been a growing number of colleges that have joined so-called SAT optional movement and have dropped the test as a requirement for admission.

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SAT critics point out that the test is biased on several levels. One of the best-known examples is cultural bias, demonstrated by the now infamous oarsman regatta analogy. SAT has also been accused of having a high correlation with participants IQ and that in fact measures intelligence, not knowledge. When you rank the smartest states 1 to 50 by average IQ by state, the list is highly similar to that of the states with the highest SAT scores (to learn more, head on to 10 Smartest States in America by SAT Scores). Moreover, you can check out IQ by state map in order to learn more about average IQ in America by state. While it is obvious that smarter kids tend to do better in school, that is far from a rule, and critics rightly point out that tests like SAT, which are designed to rank students according to their ability and preparedness to attend college, shouldn’t measure IQ, let alone use it as a definite marker of someone’s abilities.

But simply taking average SAT score of a state and presenting it as a definite value of its education is wrong. Not all states require each high school graduate to take the test. In fact, a vast majority doesn’t, which creates skewed results if you rank dumbest or smartest states in America by SAT scores alone. The other factor that has to be taken into account is participation rate, the percentage of graduates that take the test. Generally speaking, the lower the participation rates, the higher is the average SAT score because usually, only the best students take the test. In states with higher participation, SAT scores are more reflective of the state’s general achievements, since even the struggling students have to take the SAT.

For instance, if you take a look at the latest SAT scores, the smartest state in America is Minnesota, with an average score of 1295. That’s a whopping 235 points above the United States average. But if you bring participation rate into the picture, the situation changes dramatically. Only 3% of high school seniors took the test in Minnesota, meaning that only 2,061 of Minnesota best and brightest have achieved this amazing score. Compare that to almost 150,000 students that took the test in Florida and it is easy to see how results can easily get warped.

That is why we have taken SAT scores adjusted for participation as our measuring stick for determining the dumbest states in America by SAT scores in 2017, found on Prep Scholar. The same goes for the “dumbest states in America 2016” list. Just to put things into perspective, we included how much money each state spends annually on their students (data from Census Bureau) and we also threw in the Education Weekly’s Quality Counts 2017: State Report Cards survey, which grades each state on the quality of their education, based on various parameters.

20. California

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1579

We kick off the list of the dumbest states in America by SAT scores with California. The Golden State ranks 36th in educational spending, with $9,595 spent per student. Education Weekly gave it C- or 69.8% score on quality of its education.

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19. Ohio

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1577

Ohio has received a C (74.7%) for the quality of its education, which puts it in the upper half of Education Weekly report. The state spends annually $11,354 per student, enough for 20th place. Both of these seem out of line with its SAT scores.

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18. Arizona

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1568

Arizona is one of only eight states that received a grade smaller than C on the quality of education. It got D+ (68.5%). Its spending per student is $7,527, which placed it third from the bottom. All things considered, Arizona seems well placed on this list.

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17. Pennsylvania

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1567

With a B- (80.5%) mark and $13,961 spent per student annually (12th place overall), Pennsylvania seems out of place here, yet its average SAT scores are even lower than Arizona’s. Something to ponder for Pennsylvania’s educators.

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16. Oklahoma

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1565

Oklahoma spends only $7,828 per student and has received a D+ (68.2) on the quality of its education. If anything, Oklahoma’s students have been overperforming, judging from these parameters.

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15. Rhode Island

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1563

With $14,767 spent per student annually, Rhode Island is in top ten states per educational spending. It received a C+ (79.4) from Education Weekly, yet they ended up on the list of the dumbest states per SAT scores.

14. Montana

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1558

Montana got a C (74.1) from Education Weekly, which is just below the country’s average score of 74.1. Its educational spending of $ 11,018 is just above nation’s average of $11,009, which both mean that Montana should be lower on our list of dumbest states in America by SAT scores.

13. Alaska

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1555

Alaska got a C (73.9) on the quality of their educational system. Considering that they spent $18,414 per student, the third highest spending in the country, that isn’t a great result. Although to be fair, Alaska is a bit specific, due to its huge area and scarce population, the educational costs are bound to be high.

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12. Mississippi

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1552

With just $8,262 spent per student (among the 5 lowest educational spending nationwide) and D (65.8) from Education Weekly (only Nevada received a worse grade), Mississippi didn’t score that bad on the 12th spot among dumbest states in America by SAT scores.

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11. Arkansas

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1551

Education weekly awarded Arkansas C- (69.8) in their Quality Counts 2017: State Report Cards survey. The state is spending $9,614 per student annually.

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10. Utah

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1540

With just $6,500 spent per pupil, Utah is dead last nationwide. Yet, they got C- (72.0) from Education Weekly, a better grade than some states that spend way more money on their students.

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9. Texas

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1539

Education Weekly ranked Texas education system 11th from the bottom in the country. Their spending per student of $8,592 is eighth from the bottom, which can be somewhat justified by a large number of students in the second most populous state. And they are 9th from the bottom in their SAT score. All these facts should really give Texas educational authorities something to ponder about.

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8. Nevada

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1526

With a D (65.0), Nevada has the worst education in the United States, according to the Education weekly. That’s no surprise, considering they spend just $8,414 per student.

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7. New Mexico

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1524

Another bottom dweller, New Mexico got a D (66.3) from Education Weekly, just 1.3 points more than their Nevada neighbors. They spend $9,734 per student annually.

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6. Delaware

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1522

For a change of pace, we have a northern state on the 6th spot among the dumbest states in America by SAT scores. Delaware especially looks bad when compared to its New England neighbors, which traditionally have the best education in the US.

5. District of Columbia

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1518

District of Columbia is a poster child for opponents of increased educational spending and people claiming that throwing money at the problem won’t solve anything. With $18,486 spent on each student, DC is second only to New York in that category, yet their SAT scores are abysmal.

4. Louisiana

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1517

One of just eight states that received a D on Education Weekly report, Louisiana spends $10,749 on their students, which ranks it just below the national average.

3. Maine

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1511

With average spending of $12,706, Maine is ranked 15th in the US. It also got C+ (78.5) on Education Weekly report, the worst grade of all New England states. Unlike its neighbors, Maine seems to struggle with its education system.

2. Alabama

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1496

Alabama ranks second on our list of dumbest states in America by SAT scores. The state annually spends $9,028 per student, which ranks it 40th in the United States. In Education Weekly’s State Report, Alabama scored D+ or 68.1% mark. All things taken into account, it is easy to see why Alabama ranked so high on this list.

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1. West Virginia

Average SAT Score, Adjusted for Participation: 1444

The title of the dumbest state in America by SAT scores goes to West Virginia. With $11,260 spent per student annually, the Mountain State ranks 21st among 50 states and DC. The state scored C- (71.8) on Education Weekly report. It would seem that the money isn’t a problem here, seeing how West Virginia is one of only two states with adjusted SAT score of below 1500.