Most Educated States 2017: Where Does Donald Trump's Education Secretary Pick Betsy DeVos’ Home State Rank?

Michigan, the state where President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of education, Betsy Devos, has been actively involved in education reform for decades, ranks 27th in the list of most educated states, according to analysis published Tuesday by personal finance website WalletHub.

DeVos’ nomination has come under intense scrutiny over the billionaire’s potential conflicts of interest and absence of experience in public schools. The former Republican chairwoman in Michigan has also attracted attention because of her role as the chair of pro-school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children and her pushing of charter schools and school choice in the state.

But the analysis from WalletHub ranks Michigan 37th in terms of quality of education and attainment gap, which measures factors such as the quality of the public-school system and the racial and gender gap in educational attainment. While Michigan was ranked slightly higher in terms of educational attainment, which assesses the percentage of adults in each state with different levels of qualifications, it is still labeled as a low-education and low-income state by the study.

The analysis drew its data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, The Chronicle of Higher Education and U.S. News and World Report.

At the top of the list as the most-educated state was Massachusetts, thanks largely to its leading figures in percentages of bachelor’s degree and graduate and professional degree holders. Maryland is ranked second, Colorado third, Connecticut fourth and Vermont, which scored highest in quality of education and attainment gap, is fifth.

At the other end of the scale, West Virginia is ranked as the least educated state due to achieving the lowest score for educational attainment.

One of the experts consulted for the study, Steven G. Brint, professor of sociology and public policy at University of California, Riverside, outlined the benefits of a highly educated population.

“Highly educated people are better informed, are more engaged with their communities, pay more taxes and bring up well-educated children,” he said. “They are less likely to draw on state resources due to criminal activity or social welfare needs.”