America’s Smartest States: Nevada Is Not One Of Them
How smart do you think Nevadans are? I think we’re pretty smart. However, a recent study ranking the smartest states in the U.S. places us 49th. Ouch! Here’s How They Determined…
A businessman sits in a corner wearing a red dunce cap while two female and one male colleague continue a meeting at a conference table in the middle of the room.
Image_Source_ via Getty ImagesHow smart do you think Nevadans are? I think we’re pretty smart. However, a recent study ranking the smartest states in the U.S. places us 49th. Ouch!
Here’s How They Determined The Smartest States In The U.S.
Generally, when it comes to book smarts, the residents of “The Silver State” do not rank highly in a new study. The folks at Test-Guide.com looked at IQ scores, ACT and SAT scores, high school graduation rates, and the number of residents who have earned a bachelor's degree. After taking all that data into consideration, Nevada ranks 49th out of 50 states. The only state we beat was Mississippi.
At any rate, if you break the study down by section, Nevada still ranks pretty low in each category. First, when ranking by IQ scores, our state’s residents rank 46th, with an average score of 96.6. Second, and probably the most disappointing finding, is that Nevada is last in the nation when it comes to ACT and SAT scores. So, how about high school graduation rates? This is Nevada’s highest ranking at 44 with an 86.9% graduation rate. Finally, only 8.2% of Silver State residents have successfully earned a bachelor's degree or higher, ranking us 45th in the nation.
Let’s See Which States Performed Well In This Intelligence Study
Correspondingly, the study lists some of the top states in the U.S. in these four categories. Overall, the top 3 smartest states are Vermont, Minnesota, and New Hampshire, in that order. Although Vermonters were not number one in a specific category, they did rank in the top 10 in all four sections.
Moreover, the states with residents who have a higher IQ average were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, in that order. All three of these states’ IQ averages around 103, compared to 96.6 in Nevada. However, when looking at ACT and SAT exam scores, three different states rise to the top. Oregon, Virginia, and California are the top 3 in that specific order.
Furthermore, it appears that states with very small populations rank highly for graduation rates. The top 3 states in this category were Montana, Wyoming, and Vermont, in that order. High school graduation rates in these states average between 93.5% to 94%.
Finally, when it comes to residents with bachelor's degrees or higher, the top three states were New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York. There also happens to be many Ivy League universities in these states.
In conclusion, with Clark County School District going through sickouts and a massive teacher shortage, it does not look like Nevada will be doing much better in these intelligence studies unless things improve.
If you’d like to see the full results of this report, click here.
Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC.
