I love lists. I also enjoy maps. And I especially love lists that rank the states alongside colorful maps.

So I was delighted to find this report from the U.S. Department of Education, which shows how South Dakota stacks up against the rest of the country in key math and reading tests and high school and college graduation measures.

You’ll see South Dakota generally does well in the math and reading tests administered throughout the country. And that while the state sends a lot of high school graduates to college, most don’t get bachelor’s degrees within six years; however, the state is first in completion rates for associate’s degrees and certificates.





Top ten:

5th at 29 percent proficient in reading: Hispanic fourth-graders (NAEP 2009)

7th at 17 percent proficient in reading: Fourth-graders with disabilities (NAEP)

10th at 27 percent proficient in math: Hispanic fourth-graders (NAEP)

10th at 37 percent proficient in reading: All eighth-graders (NAEP)

8th at 42 percent proficient in math: All eighth-graders (NAEP)

10th at 46 percent proficient in math: White eighth-graders (NAEP)

4th at 85.5 percent: Black students four-year HS graduation rate (2008-09 class)

4th at 72.1 percent: College-going rates of HS graduates (2008)

1st at 60.7 percent: Three-year college graduation rates for associate and certificate students (2009)



Bottom ten:

8th from last at 4 percent proficient in reading: Eighth-graders with disabilities (NAEP)

9th from last at 13 percent proficient in math: Hispanic eighth-graders (NAEP)

10th at 45.5 percent: Six-year college graduation rates for bachelor students (2009)