“Dumbest state in the nation” is a list where a state doesn’t want to be highly ranked. How does Texas perform relative to other states? Warning: This ranking is contrary to the reams of state-controlled (aka contrived) data released by the Texas Education Agency such as dropout and graduation rates etc. The Street compared the Lone Star State to other states in the nation and named Texas “Third-dumbest state in America.” They wrote:

The Lone Star State stands virtually alone when it comes to the proportion of an area’s citizens who didn’t finish high school.

Texas ties California for dead last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of residents 25 or older without high-school educations — 19.3% for both states.

The Lone Star State also places 10th from the bottom in terms of young people attending college, with just 52.8% of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in post-secondary schools.

Similarly, a 499 average SAT math score places Texas at a below-average 28th place nationwide, while 36.3% of the state’s high schoolers watch three hours or more of TV daily. That’s the 11th-highest rate nationwide.

Per pupil educational expenditures: Here is list where some Texans will be proud (including certain legislators) to be at the top while others are embarrassed (me). For your descriptive statistical pleasure I have included a table below with per pupil educational expenditures  for all states in the U.S. and compared them between 2000 and 2009 with a column for national ranking change. Texas had the fourth highest ranking decrease in education expenditures relative to other U.S. states over the past decade… Where does your state rank?

Per Pupil Expenditures: Education Spending and Ranking by State (2000 and 2009) 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Public School Finance Data 2000 and 2009