Massachusetts and Vermont took top honors on the annual ranking of states by level of intelligence. Iowa ranked #8, Indiana was #13, and California slid in at a not-so-surprising #44. New Mexico took the lowest ranking of #50.
The Smartest State Award is based on 21 factors that compare the 50 states in more than 400 elementary and secondary education categories. Factors considered include per pupil expenditures, public high school graduation rates, average class size, student reading, writing and math proficiency, and pupil-teacher ratios and teacher salaries as a percent of average annual pay.
Next step: overlap this list with the map of red vs. blue states.