The Smart Money

States Ranked: Smartest to Dumbest

The smartest state in the union for the second consecutive year is Massachusetts.
The dumbest, for the third year in a row, is New Mexico.

These are the findings of the Education State Rankings, a survey by Morgan Quitno Press of hundreds of public school systems in all 50 states. States were graded on a variety of factors based on how they compare to the national average. These included such positive attributes as per-pupil expenditures, public high school graduation rates, average class size, student reading and math proficiency, and pupil-teacher ratios. States received negative points for high drop-out rates and physical violence.

Next to each state, I've placed how the latest polls show them leaning in the presidential election:

1. Massachusetts	Strong Kerry
2. Connecticut	Weak Kerry
3. Vermont	Strong Kerry
4. New Jersey	Strong Kerry
5. Wisconsin	Barely Kerry
6. New York	Strong Kerry
7. Minnesota	Weak Kerry
8. Iowa	Exactly Tied
9. Pennsylvania	Weak Kerry
10. Montana	Stong Bush
11. Maine	Barely Kerry
12. Virginia	Barely Bush
13. Nebraska	Strong Bush
14. New Hampshire	Weak Kerry
15. Kansas	Strong Bush
16. Wyoming	Strong Bush
17. Indiana	Strong Bush
18. Maryland	Strong Kerry
19. North Dakota	Strong Bush
20. Ohio	Barely Bush
21. Colorado	Weak Bush
22. South Dakota	Strong Bush
23. Rhode Island	Strong Kerry
24. Illinois	Strong Kerry
25. North Carolina	Barely Bush
26. Missouri	Barely Bush
27. Delaware	Weak Kerry
28. Utah	Strong Bush
29. Idaho	Strong Bush
30. Washington	Weak Kerry
31. Michigan	Weak Kerry
32. South Carolina	Strong Bush
33. Texas	Strong Bush
34 West Virginia (tie w/Texas)	Weak Bush
35. Oregon	Weak Kerry
36. Arkansas	Weak Bush
37. Kentucky	Strong Bush
38. Georgia	Strong Bush
39. Florida	Barely Kerry
40. Oklahoma	Strong Bush
41. Tennessee	Strong Bush
42. Hawaii	Strong Kerry
43. California	Weak Kerry
44. Alabama	Strong Bush
45. Alaska	Strong Bush
46. Louisiana	Weak Bush
47. Mississippi	Weak Bush
48. Arizona	Weak Bush
49. Nevada	Barely Kerry
50. New Mexico	Barely Bush