It is hard to believe that back-to-school time is almost here! Football practice has started, summer clearance is on, fall clothes are coming out and back-to-school sales either have kids giddy with excitement or sad at the looming demise of carefree days at the pool.

At Wallet Hub back-to-school time means taking a look at the quality of education around the country, the safety of students and then ranking each state by looking at a number of factors including, but not limited to; standardized test scores, dropout rates, student-teacher ratios, SAT scores and more.

How did South Dakota do? Well- -out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, we came in 30th with an unbelievable safety rating of (yikes!) 47th! The school safety number was determined by examining the number of students in grades 9 through 12 who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, bullying incidents and the youth incarceration rate.

Believe it or not money is not always a determining factor either, but, it definitely helps. The Economic Policy Institute reports that when states invest more money into education, the state's residents and the overall state economy both benefit. The EPI also found that in states where residents are well-educated, incomes are higher which in turn translates into a better bottom line for the state budget.

One bright spot in this study were the statistics from SAT which indicate that overall South Dakota students rank 4th in that category. So we obviously have children that thrive even in less than optimal educational surroundings and we know we have some of the most dedicated teachers in the country.

Along with this latest study WalletHub has also included advice from experts for parents and policymakers. It really is an interesting read! Check it out here.

More From KXRB