Iowa finished 15th in a new public education study from the website 24/7 Wall St. that examines such measures as high school graduation rates, per-pupil funding and preschool participation.

In the analysis, which is modeled after the Quality Counts study created by the publication Education Week, Iowa was found to have a 12th-grade graduation rate of 91 percent, education spending amounting to $11,461 per student and a preschool participation rate among 3- and 4-year-olds of 45.4 percent.

Those obtaining bachelor’s degrees in the state represented 29 percent of the adult population.

Top-ranking states in the 24/7 Wall St. analysis demonstrated strong performances in reading and math proficiency, as well as graduating students on time. In nine of the top-10 state educational systems, high school graduation rates came in above 84.6 percent, the report said.

Even in states that ranked toward the bottom of the list, there are schools that perform at above-average levels, the analysis said.

—

Which States Have the Best Public Schools?

RankStateHigh School Graduation RatePublic School Spending per Pupil% of 3- and 4-year-olds in Preschool% of Adults With Bachelor’s Degrees1Massachusetts88.3%$16,19758.4%44.5%2New Jersey90.5%$18,92062.1%40.8%3Connecticut87.9%$19,32261.7%39.6%4New Hampshire88.9%$15,68357.6%36.8%5Vermont89.1%$18,29061.7%38.7%6Wyoming86.2%$16,53745%26.9%7Minnesota82.7%$12,64749.6%36.7%8Nebraska89.1%$12,57943.3%32.4%9Pennsylvania86.6%$15,79846.9%31.8%10Virginia86.9%$11,88648.1%39.3%11Wisconsin88.6%$11,96837.1%30%12Illinois87%$15,33754.2%35.1%13Maryland87.7%$14,84847.6%40.8%14Maine86.9%$13,69053.5%31.5%15Iowa91%$11,46145.4%29%16New York81.8%$23,09155%37.2%17Colorado79.1%$9,80949.9%41.7%18Indiana83.8%$10,04537.7%27.1%19Ohio84.2%$12,64543.6%29.0%20Montana85.8%$11,44341.4%31.7%21Delaware86.9%$15,30248.7%31.3%22Utah86%$7,17938%34.9%23Florida82.3%$9,07549.9%30.4%24Washington79.4%$11,98945%36.7%25North Carolina86.6%$9,07243.8%31.9%26Missouri88.3%$10,58947%29.5%27South Dakota83.7%$9,93937.8%29.2%28Rhode Island84.1%$15,94333.9%34.4%29Kentucky89.7%$10,12142.7%24.8%30Kansas86.5%$10,96145.8%33.8%31North Dakota87.2%$13,76038.5%29.7%32Tennessee89.8%$9,18435.3%27.5%33Idaho79.7%$7,48636%27.7%34Arkansas88.0%$9,96745.4%23.3%35California82.7%$12,14345.6%34.2%36Texas89.7%$9,37538.7%30.3%37Georgia80.6%$10,20546.1%31.9%38Michigan80.2%$11,90743.5%29.6%39Oregon76.7%$11,26445.2%34%40Mississippi83%$8,77145.1%23.2%41South Carolina83.6%$10,59039.1%28.3%42Hawaii82.7%$14,32244.2%33.5%43Alaska78.2%$17,83844.3%30.2%44Oklahoma82.6%$7,94041.4%25.6%45Arizona78%$8,00335.1%29.7%46Alabama89.3%$9,51140.9%25.5%47West Virginia89.4%$11,55434.6%21.3%48Nevada80.9%$9,32035.1%24.9%49Louisiana78.1%$11,19948.3%24.3%50New Mexico71.1%$9,88140.4%27.7%

Source: 24/7 Wall St.