The Pew Center on the States released their new Grading the States 2008 Report they produced with Governing magazine where they give letter grades to each state based on how well they manage budgets, staffs, infrastructure and information, according to today’s AP article. A panel of state government experts determined the grades. Pew has said they hope the rankings will give states objective information on how they can perform better in the future.

Who are the stars of the class? Utah, Virginia and Washington state all received A minus grades, while New Hampshire underachieves with its D plus performance. See what grade your state received. Governing magazine writes that information is vital to states being responsive and efficient. "No single idea emerges more clearly from (the research)," the article says. "Information elements, in short, are key to how a state takes care of its infrastructure, plans for its financial future and deals with the dramatic changes affecting the state workforce."

Check it out.