New Study Suggests Maine Shockingly Less Educated Than Rest of New England

A recent education study is suggesting Maine is lagging behind its New England counterparts. That's not exactly ideal.

Wallethub.com, a personal finance website, recently published its annual report of the most and least educated states in the United States.

Maine came in with an overall ranking of #18 most educated. While that doesn't sound too bad, it's sputtering well behind most of its New England neighbors. Plus, is #18 really that good? Maybe I'm a perfectionist, but Maine should strive for the top 10 or bust.

Speaking of those other New England states, here's how they did. Massachusetts led the entire country, while Connecticut was 3rd, Vermont 4th, New Hampshire 8th, and Rhode Island 12th. This is just a complete embarrassment for us Mainers.

Maine's actual score was 55.94. That scoring is on a 100-point system and based on two major categories: Educational Attainment and Quality of Education. These categories were broken down into 18 subcategories to make it as detailed as possible. You can read more about the methodology here.

Maine's highest ranking was in the educational attainment category with a 15th ranking. However, the Pine Tree State got smoked in quality of education. The state only managed a 31st ranking. This absolutely killed Maine, especially when compared to its New England brethren. The next lowest New England state in that category was Vermont, with a ranking of 15.

This is an extremely humbling report. It's one thing to be slightly struggling. But to be miles behind your closest competitors is just downright demoralizing. Also, finishing 31st in quality of education is inexcusable. Maine simply needs to do better.

Hopefully this and other similar reports will be a wake-up call to this state's educators and administrations. Maine's children need to be challenged to be the best they can be. A life filled with competition is in their future. They need to be as prepared as possible.