Texas finished 7th among states in a new study by the WalletHub website that examines equality between white and Black students in educational progress among the 50 states, based on six key dimensions.
The Lone Star State earned a total score of 60.05 in the study by the personal finance website, with the maximum score being 100. In comparison, No. 1 Wyoming received a score of 86.46, according to the analysis.
The key educational dimensions measured between white and Black adults are the share of adults with at least a high school diploma, share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree, standardized test scores, mean SAT score, average ACT score and public high school graduation rate.
Texas had the lowest gap between the racial groups in terms of percentages of adults 25 years and older with high school degrees, the report said.
In spite of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which desegregated public schools, school districts with high concentrations of white students receive $23 billion more annually than those with high percentages of non-white students, according to a study cited by WalletHub. Such disparities can lead to unequal educational outcomes, the researchers said.
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State Rankings on Racial Equality in Education
Overall Rank (1=Most Equality) | State | Total Score |
1 | Wyoming | 86.46 |
2 | West Virginia | 76.77 |
3 | New Mexico | 70.85 |
4 | Idaho | 65.68 |
5 | Montana | 64.87 |
6 | Oklahoma | 60.07 |
7 | Texas | 60.05 |
8 | Arizona | 59.34 |
9 | Kentucky | 58.56 |
10 | Tennessee | 57.33 |
11 | Hawaii | 55.09 |
12 | Delaware | 54.80 |
13 | Arkansas | 54.58 |
14 | Maine | 53.86 |
15 | New Hampshire | 53.10 |
16 | Georgia | 52.96 |
17 | North Dakota | 52.64 |
18 | Vermont | 52.53 |
19 | Alabama | 51.55 |
20 | Mississippi | 50.46 |
21 | Nevada | 49.78 |
22 | Alaska | 49.37 |
23 | Washington | 47.77 |
24 | Oregon | 46.84 |
25 | North Carolina | 46.05 |
26 | Indiana | 45.90 |
27 | Rhode Island | 45.42 |
28 | Florida | 43.39 |
29 | Missouri | 42.92 |
30 | California | 42.50 |
31 | South Dakota | 41.14 |
32 | Kansas | 40.97 |
33 | Maryland | 40.10 |
34 | Louisiana | 40.05 |
35 | Virginia | 37.41 |
36 | Michigan | 36.10 |
37 | Colorado | 36.09 |
38 | Ohio | 35.89 |
39 | Utah | 34.86 |
40 | Nebraska | 34.71 |
41 | New Jersey | 33.02 |
42 | Illinois | 32.53 |
43 | Iowa | 31.51 |
44 | Pennsylvania | 31.01 |
45 | South Carolina | 30.82 |
46 | Massachusetts | 29.95 |
47 | New York | 26.16 |
48 | Connecticut | 24.13 |
49 | Minnesota | 20.18 |
50 | Wisconsin | 12.06 |