Maryland was ranked as the top state in a new U.S. News & World Report analysis comparing educational outcomes in gender parity.
According to U.S. News & World Report’s inaugural Best States for Gender Equality rankings, Maryland is the top-ranked state in the country for gender parity in education. and is ranked fourth for balanced representation and power, a metric that compares “the percentage of women and men in elected office and in managerial positions.”
From the U.S. News & World Report analysis:
Maryland took the top spot in the ranking’s education category, placing first among its peers for lower gender disparities in math and reading scores for eighth graders, and third among them for four-year public college graduation rates. Experts say Maryland, under the last two governors – a Democrat and a Republican – has prioritized K-12 education even as other states have scaled back funding.
Maryland also ranks high – No. 4 – for balanced representation and power, a metric that compares the percentage of women and men in elected office and in managerial positions.
In education, Maryland was followed in the top by Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont and Illinois, while Idaho Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Utah and Wyoming ranked in the bottom five.
Notably, Maryland scored 100 percent in gender parity for achievement test scores and 86.2 percent for parity in 4-year college graduation rates. Maryland’s college graduation rate is impressive compared to the national rate: “Nationally, 66% of women finished compared to 59.7% of men – a difference of 6.3 percentage points.”
The report’s rankings were based on thirteen metrics that measured outcomes and access in education, the economy, health, family planning and care, and representation and power.
