The smartest state thing measures K-12, not post-secondary education levels, and is the name given to the survey by it's authors, not me.

Also, the level of funding spend on education, both K-12 and post-sec. Post-secondary education is not limited to bachelors degrees, and in fact, most Americans still don't hold one or pursue one,

Another measure of "educated" includes the amount of money dedicated to libraries, something that allows less- and under-educated people to educate themselves on their own timetable. Libraries are truly the cornerstone of an educated populace.

My point is, you get the quality of life you pay for through your taxes. We in the blue states figured that out long ago, but the folks in the red states, well...