How WalletHub’s 2025 school-system methodology placed Oklahoma 50th nationwide for education quality and safety

A recurring headline, a specific formula

Oklahoma has been placed 50th in a nationwide ranking of public school systems produced by WalletHub, a personal-finance publisher that scores states using a defined set of indicators. The most widely circulated version of the ranking in Oklahoma dates to a study published July 21, 2025, which compared the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and assigned Oklahoma an overall rank of 50, with New Mexico 51st.

The study assigns each state an overall score by combining two dimensions—“Quality” and “Safety.” Quality accounts for 80% of the total, while safety represents 20%. Each underlying metric is converted to a 100-point scale and then weighted into a final composite score.

What counts most: test scores, dropouts, and college-readiness signals

In the 2025 study, the highest-impact measures are concentrated in the quality category. WalletHub double-weights several factors, including fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading test scores, dropout rate, median SAT score, median ACT score, and the share of the high school class earning a score of 3 or higher on Advanced Placement exams. Other quality measures carry smaller weights, such as pupil-teacher ratio and the share of teachers who are licensed or certified.

Several of these inputs can materially shape results for states where participation patterns differ. Oklahoma’s ACT is widely administered, and broader participation can affect median results when compared with states where fewer students test. WalletHub also incorporates a metric tracking the share of high school graduates who completed the ACT and/or SAT, acknowledging that some students may take both exams.

Safety measures include school climate, legal requirements, and shootings since 2000

The safety dimension includes student-reported measures (such as being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, avoiding school due to safety concerns, bullying incidence, and access to illegal drugs on school property) as well as policy and system indicators. These include whether a state requires a school safety plan, whether safety audits are required, and whether laws regulate mandatory school resource officers.

The safety category also incorporates the number of school shootings since 2000, and a road-safety measure around schools based on driving events detected in school areas.

Where Oklahoma landed within the study’s sub-rankings

In the July 2025 publication, Oklahoma’s overall score was 32.62 out of 100. The study ranked Oklahoma 50th on the quality dimension and 34th on safety. In individual indicators displayed within the report, Oklahoma was listed 48th on reading test scores and tied for 49th on median ACT score.

How to read the ranking alongside other benchmarks

WalletHub’s approach is broader than rankings that rely primarily on academic outcomes or finance. Still, many of the high-weight indicators are closely tied to academic performance. For readers, the key takeaway is that the “50th” label is the product of a specific weighting scheme that emphasizes measured achievement, dropout rates, and college-readiness indicators, then adds a smaller safety component that combines student experience, policy requirements, and incident counts.

• Scope: 50 states plus the District of Columbia
• Total metrics: 32, combined into Quality (80%) and Safety (20%)
• High-weight items: test scores, dropout rate, ACT/SAT, AP performance
• Safety items: student-reported climate, policy requirements, shootings since 2000

WalletHub’s overall rank is not a single data point; it is a composite score shaped by the study’s chosen indicators and weights.