No, the state is not first - or last.
South Carolina is exactly average, No. 26 on the list of 50 states, plus Washington, D.C.
The top ranked state, Maryland, earned a B+, so South Carolina's C+ is not bad compared to other states. But the national average is just C+, meaning we have a long way to go.
From the piece:
For the fifth year in a row, Maryland posts the nation's highest overall grade. Scoring 87.5 and earning a B-plus, Maryland finishes 3.4 points ahead of second-place Massachusetts, which is followed by New York and Virginia. For the first time, Kentucky (10th) joins the top-10 states, while Florida (sixth) regains its top-10 ranking after falling to 11th place in 2012. At the other end of the rankings, South Dakota was awarded a grade of D-plus. A majority of states fell near the middle of the grading curve, with 38 states earning grades between a C-minus and a C-plus. The United States as a whole gained a half-point from last year, bringing the national grade up to a C-plus, from a C.
