Red states outpacing progressive-run states in 'racial equality in education,' new study reveals

Conservative-run red states are outpacing their progressive-run counterparts in achieving educational equality between Black and White Americans, according to a new study by Wallethub.

The study, "2023’s Best States for Racial Equality in Education," revealed the top ten states as New Mexico, Wyoming, West Virginia, Oregon, Vermont, Hawaii, Kentucky, Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma. The study did not include Washington, D.C.

The methodology of the study was conducted by comparing the gap between White and Black Americans with a bachelor's degree and high school diploma, and the disparity in standardized test results.

Massachusets, New Jersey, South Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota and Wisconsin (in descending order) ranked as the lowest 10 states.

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It is important to note that states with a smaller Black population could have more volatile results in terms of equality and inequality. In the top 10, Kentucky, Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma were the only states with a Black population above 5%.

However, each state ranked in the bottom 10 has a Black population of above 5%. 

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"The gaps they measure are between Black and White outcomes, and the states with the smallest gaps appear also to be stated with relatively small shared of Black population," Dr. Shaun M. Dougherty, associate professor of Public Policy & Education at Vanderbilt University, told Fox News Digital. 

He continued, "Red states like Mississippi, Ohio, Alabama don’t fare terribly well, whereas red states like Wyoming have hardly any Black residents and rank well in this case – as do Vermont, Maine and New Mexico, which all have very small shares of Black residents."

The top 10 states with the highest Black population, in ascending order with their ranking in the study, were Mississippi (#19), Louisiana (#33), Georgia (#15), Maryland (#35), Delaware (#12), Alabama (#18), South Carolina (#43) and North Carolina (#29). 

"From my standpoint, the interesting cases are states like Delaware and Arkansas where there are relatively large Black populations and better performance on these metrics," Dougherty said. 

"My fundamental concern with these rankings is that most of the focus is on differences in performance by race, rather than levels, which are also important. Small differences in a state with poorer performance for all is equitable but not desirable."