Posted on 06/07/2014 4:38:46 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- When writing an article ranking the "smartest" and "dumbest" states in the Union it is important to explain your methodology. This list is based on the level of education a certain percentage of the residents of each state achieves.
According to information compiled by the website infoplease.com, as of 2010 men with a BA make 60% more than their counterparts with a high school diploma -- $40,000 to $64,000 -- while women with BA's make 56.6% more than their counterparts with a lower level of education -- $30,000 to $47,000.
And the gulf is widening. Twenty years ago male college graduates only made 47.5% more than high school grads while female BA holders made 53% more.
For this reason there is some correlation between states with higher percentages of people with Bachelor's and advanced degrees also having fewer people living below the poverty line.
One would think that states with more colleges and universities per capita might do better on this list but that is not necessarily the case. Vermont -- number 8 on the smartest list -- has the most schools per capita with 1 university per 36,545.3 residents, while New Jersey -- number 6 on the smartest list -- has the second lowest number of schools per capita with 1 university per 526,764.8 residents.
Average SAT scores also do not accurately reflect the level of education as certain states with higher average SAT scores have a smaller percentage of students taking the test. North Dakotan students for example had an average SAT score of 1799 in 2013, good for second in the country. However, the state only had a 2% participation rate.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestreet.com ...
Yet they elect losers.....
If the ‘Red States’ are so dumb, then WHY are so many citizens of ‘Blue States’ moving there?
Brings back memories, dude. I don’t know what I was thinking. LOL!
I stopped reading the article after the first 2 words.
NEW YORK.
I agree.
I am temporarily trapped in soviet Red Hampshire, and there is NO QUESTION that they belong on the ‘dumb’ list. I noted that on another list, Red Hampshire is the #1 DRUNKEST state in the nation. No surprise when you consider Red Hampshire is the LEAST ‘religious’ in the country...Red Hampshire also features liquor stores at rest areas on their interstates; making it very easy to grab a bottle and hit the highway on your way to the beach in summer and the ski areas in winter.
That's probably true that the northeast is "smarter", don't know about "better"...more educated is a better term...
It isn't because they are actually are, it's because of immigration demographics...
The Southwest and Southeast are being overrun with third world peoples...typically a 8th grade education at best...
So naturally the more less educated people, the more overall less "smarter" people you have...
I went to the local community college. I couldn’t afford to go anywhere else. After that I went to the state university. I never went into debt or lived beyond my (extremely meager) means. I was a millionaire at age 40—multimillionaire at 43—retired at 53 to live on my investments. Is my life heaven on earth? YESSSSSSSSS! I’m an average American. If I can do it anybody can do it.
The smartest get to make appearances on MSNBC where they demonstrate the falsity of this study with each appearance.
BTW—this was below the Mason-Dixon line.
The smartest people from NJ are... “from NJ” as in no longer “in NJ”.
But I do too.
Elizabeth Warren. Any state that would elect her to the Senate has to be the dumbest state in America.
If Cochran wins the runoff then I think that should move Mississippi from third dumbest to first.
Red Hampshire being listed as the ‘drunkest state’ also explains the high number of Alcoholics Anonymous in this state.
You are not allowed to say, or even think, that you Racist.
You are not incorrect, just wrong.
Paging Eric Holder, Eric Holder to the (ahem...) White courtesy phone.
That’s because you’re smart.
“WTF? If New Jersey is one of the smartest states in the U.S., then I’m smarter than Einstein and wiser than Solomon. LOL.”
Well, Einstein did live in New jersey.
This study is so full of statistical faults as to be worthless.
It is odd that people who say that IQ does not mean anything, and that SAT tests are “biassed”, will gladly accept trashy articles like this, if they seem to confirm their own prejudices.
There are different kinds of intelligence, which does not vitiate the observation that there is also such a thing as measurable general intelligence.
It is also true that natural talent is not the same as performance. We all know very talented people who makes messes of their lives, and do not harness their brains when making critical decisions.
It is very common for brilliant people to do (or believe) nutty things: this is particularly true if they are segregated into a culture removed from life experience, such as a university, or a seminary. The editors of Reason magazine are unquestionably very intelligent people, and yet most of them actually voted for Obama! In other words, they flunked an easy test.
I know some very simple, modest people, who occasionally come out with quite profound observations. It is a great experience to have this happen.
....and the ‘dumbest’ state is quickest to effect a sea-change in its political affiliation and recognition that Democrat=Socialist. Longtime senators and representatives are retiring or facing electoral losses.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts elected Liz Warren.
Einstein lived in New Jersey.
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