Originally Posted by Quantum2003
Ultimately though, it simply boggles the mind the vast difference between the education in a high performing state versus a poor performing one.
Educational achievement differences across the 50 states are not primarily due to differences in the quality of schools in those states. Students in California now rank near the bottom in both reading and math. That was not true a few decades ago, and I don't think it was because the teachers or curriculum in California deteriorated more than in the rest of the country during that time span.

If we moved from MA to a state that does worse on tests, I don't think our children would get substantially dumber.