Bill Maher stated on the October 2024 episode of Real Time with Bill Maher that Mississippi outperforms California in fourth-grade reading and that Texas completes solar installations faster than California. Supported claims include Mississippi ranking ninth nationally and California ranking 37th in fourth-grade reading per Washington Examiner reporting, along with Texas solar timelines of three to four months. A claim that Black fourth-graders in Mississippi are 2.5 times as likely to be proficient in both math and reading remains disputed between sources.