The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 19th annual 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released on June, is a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America’s children that ranks states on 10 key measures and provides data on the economic, health, education, and social conditions of America’s children and families. Where does your state stack up among the nation? Does it have the best educated kids? Or the healthiest?

At a glance it is clear that the best ranking states for education, health and economic measures are New Hampshire, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Some of the lowest scoring states, across the board are Mississippi (poverty, reading), Louisiana (overall) and New Mexico (overall).

Highlighted is a small selection of the data sets available (to see additional data follow the link below), focusing on the measures for 8th graders state-by-state since that is mid-stream for school-aged children.

EDUCATION | 8th Graders Who Scored at or Above Proficient Math Level;

• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• North Dakota & Vermont (tied)
• Kansas
• South Dakota
• Montana, New Hampshire, & Pennsylvania (tied)
• Colorado, Maryland, Virginia & Wisconsin (tied for 11th place)

EDUCATION | 8th Graders Who Scored at or Above Proficient Reading Level;

• Massachusetts
• Vermont
• New Jersey & Montana (tied)
• Maine, Minnesota & New Hampshire (tied)
• Ohio, Pennsylvania & Iowa (tied)

EDUCATION | 8th Graders Who Scored at or Above Proficient Science Level;

• North Dakota
• Montana
• New Hampshire, South Dakota & Vermont (tied)
• Minnesota & Wisconsin (tied)
• Wyoming
• Idaho
• Ohio, Michigan, Virginia & Colorado (tied for 11th place)

EDUCATION | 8th Graders Who Scored at or Above Proficient Writing Level;

• New Jersey
• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Vermont
• New Hampshire
• Colorado & Maine (tied)
• Illinois
• Florida & Pennsylvania (tied)

HEALTH | Lowest Infant Deaths [per 1,000]

• Utah
• Minnesota
• Washington
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• Iowa
• New Hampshire
• California
• Nebraska
• Nevada

HEALTH | Lowest Child Deaths [per 100k]

• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• New Jersey
• Minnesota
• Washington
• Hawaii
• Maryland
• New York
• Illinois & California (tied)

HEALTH | Lowest Teen Deaths [per 100k]

• Hawaii
• Rhode Island
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• New Jersey & New York (tied)
• Minnesota
• Oregon
• Washington
• New Hampshire

POVERTY | Children in Poverty (100%)

• Maryland & New Hampshire (lowest)
• Connecticut & Hawaii
• Massachusetts, New Jersey, Utah, Wyoming & Virginia
• North Dakota & Vermont (tied for 11th place)

OVERALL | Based on Split Data 2005-2006

• New Hampshire
• Minnesota
• Massachusetts
• Connecticut
• Utah
• New Jersey
• North Dakota
• Iowa
• Nebraska
• Vermont

SITED LINKS:
The Anne E. Casey Foundation | 2008 Kids Count Data Center