Have you thought about how “dumb” your state (country) is? A few days ago, my husband sent me this link, confirming that we live in the 3rd dumbest state in the U.S., and I took it like a personal insult. How can that be?

3rd Dumbest State: California

“California has one of the worst dropout rates in the country, with nearly 20 percent of the population failing to graduate from high school. In recent years, the state’s approach to fixing this was to artificially inflate the numbers. Besides this, graduating seniors in California scored an average of 1511 on the SATs, placing it in the bottom third of the nation. It was probably a bad sign when, in 2008, it was considered a great accomplishment that the state would work towards getting eighth graders to learn algebra, a common requirement in other states. One of the main bright spots for California was its “gold standard” for higher education, where students would have access to the excellent state colleges at a lower tuition rate. But this too has suffered in recent months”

 So we may be dumb, but at least we have this in southern California:

 San Clemente Beach September 2011

   And we have this beauty in the north:

 Golden Gate Bridge September 11th, 2011 

 So where are the smartest people in the U.S.? According to the same article, Vermont is the place to be, especially if you’re raising a family. 

The Smartest State: Vermont

“Vermont was declared the smartest state by Morgan Quitno thanks to several factors. “A high percentage of the state’s students are proficient in reading and math. In addition, class sizes are small and the number of teachers per student is among the lowest in the nation,” the firm said in a press release. The average SAT scores in this state are not overwhelmingly great (just 1542), but Vermont makes up for it with strong classrooms that foster good students who are dedicated to continuing their education beyond high school. The National Center for Education reports that 91 percent of people in Vermont have a high school diploma or higher, and nearly a third have completed a bachelor’s degree.”

Just to prove I’m not dumb, here’s a photo my husband took of me last night while waiting for the boat tour of the San Franciso bay.

So I don’t think California can possibly be the 3rd dumbest state. Do you?

On a more serious note, feel free to add your thoughts on education.