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Similar methodology to what was employed previously, with an important exception. Instead of equally weighting math and reading scores, I relied entirely on the former. The math and reading scores of whites by state correlate at a comfortable .90 (p-value = 1.36E-19), but among Hispanics math and reading scores correlate at a less robust .62 (p-value = .0000006). English language proficiency is an obvious potentially confounding variable here. The NAEP data explorer site does allow for results to be sorted by reported English language proficiency level, but that probably excludes an excessive number of Hispanic test takers who may be handicapped when it comes to English reading comprehension but not when it comes to math. Consequently I’ve elected to rely on the universal language instead.
Mean IQ estimates by state among Hispanics using 2013 NAEP 8th grade mathematics assessment data follow. There are no estimates for Maine, North Dakota, Vermont, or West Virginia due to insufficient sample sizes in those states:
| State | IQ |
| DoDEA | 97.9 |
| 1. New Jersey | 97.7 |
| 2. Montana | 97.3 |
| 3. Texas | 97.1 |
| 4. Maryland | 96.4 |
| 5. Hawaii | 96.4 |
| 6. Virginia | 96.2 |
| 7. Mississippi | 96.2 |
| 8. North Carolina | 96.1 |
| 9. Indiana | 95.9 |
| 10. Wyoming | 95.6 |
| 11. Massachusetts | 95.5 |
| 12. Louisiana | 95.4 |
| 13. Ohio | 95.3 |
| 14. Alaska | 95.2 |
| 15. Delaware | 94.9 |
| 16. Georgia | 94.9 |
| 17. Missouri | 94.8 |
| 18. Kansas | 94.8 |
| 19. South Dakota | 94.3 |
| 20. Florida | 94.3 |
| 21. Arkansas | 93.9 |
| 20. Washington | 93.8 |
| 21. Minnesota | 93.8 |
| 22. Colorado | 93.6 |
| 23. Wisconsin | 93.6 |
| 24. Illinois | 93.4 |
| 25. South Carolina | 93.4 |
| 26. Tennessee | 92.6 |
| 27. New Hampshire | 92.6 |
| 28. Arizona | 92.1 |
| 29. Kentucky | 92.1 |
| 30. Nevada | 91.7 |
| 31. New Mexico | 91.6 |
| 32. Idaho | 91.5 |
| 33. Nebraska | 91.2 |
| 34. Oregon | 90.8 |
| 35. Iowa | 90.6 |
| 36. New York | 90.5 |
| 37. District of Columbia | 90.5 |
| 38. Oklahoma | 90.4 |
| 39. Pennsylvania | 90.2 |
| 40. California | 89.7 |
| 41. Rhode Island | 89.6 |
| 42. Michigan | 88.9 |
| 43. Utah | 87.6 |
| 44. Connecticut | 87.5 |
| 45. Alabama | 87.2 |
And a corresponding map. The darker the shading, the higher the state’s estimated Hispanic IQ. The darker a state’s shading, the higher its Hispanic IQ. Yellow indicates insufficient data:
The children of military NAMs outperform the NAMs of every state in the country. Joining the military isn’t often an act of desperation for those without any other options. To the contrary, the armed forces pull mostly from the right side of the bell curve, especially when race is controlled for.
The putative Floridian advantage from having lots of professional Cuban emigres of mostly European ancestry doesn’t show up much here. Cubans no longer constitute a majority of Florida’s Hispanics–barely one-quarter of the state’s Hispanics, in fact–and the diminution is even more acute among younger generations.
The California vs. Texas match up is always an interesting one to look at. Personally, dwelling on the two most populous states in the country leaves me feeling like we’re all destined to lose, but when it comes to scholastic results, Texas appears to come out on top. It might well be because the state has adopted the motto of the most famous Hispanic athlete in American history to pull it off, but there you go!
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Said catchphrase: "I Lie! I Cheat! I Steal!"
I think Texas really may have better fundamentals in this department.
It has been widely reported that California, with just 12% of the population, has 34% of the welfare recipients. Texas has only 3%. Thus California and Texas may draw completely different kinds of people. California also historically brought in huge numbers of hispanic fruit and crop pickers, which are the most unskilled workers in America.
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/sunday-commentary/20140905-for-hispanics-the-lone-star-state-beats-the-golden-one.ece
The racial makeup of Texas Hispanics may be different too. Since Texas hispanics go back much farther, they may have a higher percentage of Spanish and other European admixture.
As a Connecticut native I am not in the least surprised to see it near the bottom. Though it is odd that the demographically similar Hispanics in Massachusetts did so much better.
Peter
Peter,
Seems odd to me as well, though you'd know the area a lot better. Massachusetts seems to be good in and at everything.
@Audacious Epigone and @Peter,
NY/CT/RI Hispanics are a bunch of Nuyoricans. The United States should have gotten rid of Puerto Rico a long time ago. It would be better if all immigration from places like PR and the DR were stopped. I think that Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and certain Central Americans are the bottom of the barrel as far as Hispanics are concerned. Cubans, Argentines, Chileans, and Uruguayans are probably the best, and Mexicans are in the middle.
Most of the Hispanics in Massachusetts are Puerto Rican or Dominican, so that doesn't explain the score difference.
One possibility, more a guess than anything, is that some of the Portuguese-descent people in Massachusetts are calling themselves Hispanic, and that's pushing up the state's Hispanic score.
Peter
"It might well be because the state has adopted the motto of the most famous Hispanic athlete in American history to pull it off, but there you go!"
Great reference!. After all, if you're not cheating, you're not trying.
What's the overall average?
I think you're missing the vast under-current of illegals. I live in a very rural town with a ton of illegal gang members mostly Guatemalans and Mexicans. Most of the Guatemalans don't even speak Spanish. Their IQ's are extremely low. Even the ones that do legal work are always trespassing to get better stuff despite maps, signs, and permits printed in English, Spanish, and Mum.