Mens sana in corpore sano

How healthy is your state and how much does your state invest in education?  For communities to thrive, IMO, their populations must be healthy and educated.  All other factors for success follow in an upward trajectory when those two indicators are doing well.

Here is some information on how the various states are doing in those areas:





New York Times Report from September 2013

BRAINTREE, Mass. — Conventional wisdom and popular perception hold that American students are falling further and further behind in science and math achievement.

The statistics from this state tell a different story. If Massachusetts were a country, its eighth graders would rank second in the world in science, behind only Singapore, according to Timss — the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which surveys knowledge and skills of fourth and eighth graders around the world. (The most recent version, in 2011, tested more than 600,000 students in 63 nations.)

 Massachusetts eighth graders also did well in mathematics, coming in sixth, behind Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.

The United States as a whole came in 10th in science and 9th in math, with scores that were above the international average.

 Of course, Timss is only one test, and achievement tests are incomplete indicators of educational prowess. But behind Massachusetts’ raw numbers are two decades of sustained efforts to lift science and mathematics education. Educators and officials chose a course and held to it, even when the early results were deeply disappointing.

 While Massachusetts has a richer and better-educated population than most states, it is not uniformly wealthy. The gains reflected improvement across the state, including poorer districts.


Report: American Education Isn't Mediocre—It's Deeply Unequal 

Students in Massachusetts are doing great compared to their international peers, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Students in Alabama, Mississippi, and D.C., however, are languishing.


Massachusetts was the highest-scoring state in math, coming in behind four educational systems—Republic of Korea, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong—and outranking 42 education systems. The lowest-ranking state, Alabama, outperformed only 19 educational systems.

 Massachusetts and Vermont outperformed 43 educational systems, while the District of Columbia ranked above only 14 educational systems. Singapore was the only education system to outrank all U.S. states.

Health Care

As of 2012, according to the United States Census Bureau, here are the states with the top five highest and lowest estimated percentage of uninsured citizens (scroll down the page for the chart):

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF UNINSURED:


1) Texas
2) Nevada
3) New Mexico
4) Florida
5) Georgia 

STATES WITH THE LOWEST ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF UNINSURED:

1) Massachusetts
2) Vermont
3) Hawaii
4) Washington, D.C.
5) Connecticut





Report, December 2013:

Hawaii the nation's healthiest state and Mississippi the least healthy.  

Overall, Hawaii was the most healthy state in the country, while Mississippi ranked lowest for health. 

Last year, Vermont topped the list for healthiest state, and came in second this year. To understand the health of communities across the country, various factors were measured, including smoking, obesity, air pollution, high school graduation rates, infant mortality and crime rates. 



America's healthiest states, top 5:

1) Hawaii
2) Vermont
3) Minnesota
4) Massachusetts
5) New Hampshire


America's unhealthiest states, top 5:

1) Mississippi
2) Arkansas
3) Louisiana
4) Alabama
5) West Virginia