Washington, D. C., Smartest City in the U. S.?

Is Washington, D. C., the smartest city in the U. S.? That depends of course upon the judging criteria you use. But according to a recent study produced by the Bookings Institution and published by the Washington Post, Washington and the surrounding metro area leads 100 major U. S. cities in brain power and gets the statistician's nod as the smartest city in the U. S.

College Degree Holders Is Standard for Selection
Using the number of residents with college degrees as a standard for selection, some twenty U. S. cities were chosen for recognition as the smartest cities nationwide, with Washington sitting atop this pile of alleged gray matter. Many of the other cities chosen are easily accepted without challenge as designates. For example, Boston seems a natural fit on any list of smart cities because it is home to top flight institutions like Harvard, M. I. T., Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern University.

With some frequency students who study in Boston seem to stay in Boston taking jobs in law, finance, education, medicine and trade that require degrees. The result is a metropolitan area where lots of college grads take up residence. The reputation that Boston has gained as one of the twenty smartest cities in the nation is not likely to raise any eyebrows.

Does D. C. Meet the Standard?
But what must the reaction be when readers note that Washington, D. C. leads the list of brainiac centers as the acclaimed smartest city in the U. S.? Certainly Washington is not without its quality institutions of higher learning with nationally recognized universities like Georgetown, American, George Washington and Howard. As the nation's capital city, Washington is also home to a sprawling sub-community of think tanks , consulting firms and Federal Government employees all who maintain positions thanks in part to the fact that they hold a college degree.

If the litmus test for smartness in cities is the number of degree holding residents then surely metropolitan D. C. has to be in the running. So why the question mark?

An Irony Laden Title
There is a highly visible irony in play when the label "smartest city" is applied to Washington, D. C. Washington qualifies as the smartest city in the nation, it seems, despite the high profile shortcomings of its public school system. For all those Washington parents unable to send their children to private schools or get them admitted to quality magnate schools like School without Walls High School or Ellington School of the Arts, the irony of a smart city that misses the boat on public education, is not just visible, it is cruel.

Each day, while those who give validity to the claim that Washington is the nation's smartest city are out doing their professional jobs, parents of public school students in D. C. face the reality of sending their kids to another day of school in a system that offers little chance for success. By any standards of measurement from overcrowding to ineffective teachers, D. C. public school are at best stalled and at worst faltering in their efforts to provide the kind of education that can prepare public school children to add to the number of degree holding residents in Washington, D. C. .

Perhaps for parents , the most appalling statistic that affects the daily education of their children was reported by the U. S. Department of Education which indicated that an alarming11.3 % of high school students in D. C. public high schools reported being either injured or threatened with a weapon while on school property. Not only are children not getting a quality education, they are at considerable risk when they show up to get the second rate education being offered.

Could it be time to rethink the definition of what really makes a city smart?.

Sources:

Daniel DeVise, "Washington Region Ranks As Best Educated in Country", http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/14/AR2010071405751.html

David Mulhausen, Dan Soifer, and Dan Lips, "School Safety in Washington, D.C. : New Data for the 2007-2008 School Year", http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/08/school-safety-in-washington-dc-new-data-for-the-2007-2008-school-year