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Best States
Bay State's Public Schools, Health Care, Economy Stand Out
By: Visi Tilak
A sunset cruise along Boston's Charles River unravels the story and strengths of this state which opened the first public park, the first colonial college and the first American subway. The spire of Harvard Memorial Church rises majestically near the columns of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Cambridge side of the river. On the other side, Boston's skyline encompasses the old and the new, the state Capitol's golden dome and the high-rise Prudential and John Hancock towers. The cruise runs past some of the world's best universities – the first, founded as New College and later Harvard in 1636 -- some of the nation's best hospitals, a museum of science, innovation district and world-class research facilities.
Its vibrant academic environment, innovative and supportive health care policies and modernizing economy, measure for measure, make this small New England powerhouse with a population of 6.8 million the strongest state of all.
Why Are We Ranking States?
"Our economy is among the strongest in the nation,'' Gov. Charlie Baker said at his second State of the Commonwealth address in January. "Over the past two years we've added 120,000 jobs. Today more people are working than at any time in the past 20 years. And our welfare caseload has dropped 25 percent. The companies of the future are moving to Massachusetts, bringing millions in private investment. While new companies are born here every day."
These business births, low unemployment, several measures of educational achievement and successful health care have combined to drive the Bay State to the overall No. 1 place in U.S. News and World Report's Best States rankings.
Several other listings have pushed Massachusetts to the top of livability lists, its unpredictable New England weather never really a deterrent. Many surveys have shown it as the best state for education, best for health care, and best in socio-economic living conditions. But this is a unique, comprehensive accolade.
Massachusetts students have performed exceptionally well in several disciplines consistently over the last several years. This "Massachusetts Education Miracle," as it has been characterized, is credited to the Education Reform Act of 1993. This was instrumental in establishing high standards with curriculum guidelines, tests to measure if students were meeting the goals and setting a higher bar for teachers.
Paul Reville, who was state education chief at the time and now a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, says: "We lead the nation on key indicators of student achievement, such as NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores. We rank at or near the top of international student achievement assessments, like PISA (Programme For International Student Assessment). We have high standards, real accountability, some of the nation's top charter schools and a bipartisan commitment to providing adequate financial support for high quality education."
Nearly half of Massachusetts residents over 25 have at least an associate's degree. About 18 percent have a graduate degree.
What stands out most in this ranking is the performance of 8th grade students – No. 1 in math, No. 2 in reading nationally. Another exceptional measure is the fact nearly half the state's residents (49 percent) have attained college degrees. The state has the third-highest rate of preschool enrollment in the nation (30 percent) and a high school graduation rate (86 percent) well above average.
While great strides have been made, Reville stresses the need to continue working at it – and points to a lesson that all states can draw from his state's experience.
"While Massachusetts did invest in building the capacity of the education system to deliver on an audacious new challenge, the basic structure, time and capacity of the schools were not altered," he says. "The old system is generally not strong enough to deliver on the new promise of educational proficiency for all. That's true in Massachusetts, the nation's highest performing state, and it's true for virtually every state in the union. Our education system is not strong enough, as currently constituted, to educate all of our students to be successful as citizens and workers in the 21st century."
Massachusetts ranks second in health care in the Best States analysis. It ranks first in the nation for access to health care and the percentage of people insured, and third for infant mortality, with an extremely low rate, 4.4 per 1000 live births.
"Massachusetts's health care system encompasses both challenge and promise," says health economist Dr. Stuart H. Altman, who chairs the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, an independent state agency that develops policy to curtail the growth of health care costs and improve the quality of patient care.
"Massachusetts has the lowest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, having undertaken health reform long before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed," he notes. "In 2006, Massachusetts passed Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, a law designed to provide near universal health insurance coverage for state residents, which acted as a blueprint for the Affordable Care Act." The federal ACA, also known as "Obamacare," was enacted by Congress in 2010 and adopted a personal mandate for health insurance modeled after Massachusetts' requirement.
"Massachusetts has passed health-care reform laws in every legislative session since 2006 and is a national leader in delivering innovative and high-quality health care," Altman says. "While Massachusetts continues to be a national leader in health care coverage, access, and innovation, the Commonwealth is working to address the many challenges ahead including cost, both for individuals and for the system, and the opioid crisis that affects every state in the country."
Within the infrastructure category, Massachusetts has placed first in Broadband access in the nation.
The states' infrastructure overall is not ranked very high, however. With traffic congestion in metro areas, ongoing construction and expansion of roads and problems plaguing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, it is not surprising that it ranks 45th for transportation and 47th for its average commute. Massachusetts also ranks low in energy, based on fuel consumption.
In spite of any infrastructure barriers, businesses continue to move in, supporting the thriving economy in this state and the opportunities made available to people. The state is ranked fourth in the country for jobs with an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent, well below the national average of 4.7 percent.
Massachusetts ranks second for business environment in the nation and ranks second in the country for new patents. It has been fertile ground for new corporations as well as established ones to grow and prosper. "The job gains have benefitted every corner of our state,'' the governor said in his speech, pointing to coastal New Bedford, where the jobless rate has fallen from 6.5 to 3.7 percent in the past year. "It's a reflection of the quality of our people and the business climate we've created."
Massachusetts was home to Emily Dickinson, Edith Wharton and Henry David Thoreau, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Graham Bell, and three American presidents, John Adams, John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy. The ethnic mix of Boston's Irish, Italian, Portuguese, Asian and other immigrants is emblematic of the history of this country and the melting pot that has made the United States one of the strongest nations in the world.
Like any place, the Bay State still faces challenges. While it ranks fifth in gender equality in the workplace, political representation and other measures, and sixth in overall median household income, the state still ranks relatively low in measures of racial gaps in income (40th) and educational attainment (31st).
Yet the indicators point to a promising future for a state presently ranked No. 1 overall, a state whose fabric is woven with the modern and traditional, immense range and diversity, a formula that allows for tremendous innovation and growth.
