CC: Chip Kimball and School Board of Directors
In April 2010 the
State Board of Education published its Public Schools Accountability Index. The Index
grades Washington public schools on a scale of one to seven, measured by four indicators and five outcomes (1). The four indicators are:
•Achievement by non-low income students;
•Achievement by low-income students;
•Achievement compared to other schools with similar demographics;
•Improvement in student achievement.
Washington Policy Center’s Public School Accountability Index rates the quality of more than 2,000 public schools across the state including those in Lake Washington School District. The Index is based on data compiled by the
State Board of Education’s 2010 Achievement Index.
Here are the findings, According to an intern from the Washington Policy Center of Educaiton:
• 597,000, or nearly 60%, of Washington children attend Fair or Struggling public schools.
• Only 93,000, less than 10%, of students attend a Very Good or Exemplary public school.
• The great majority of schools, 1,208, rank as only Fair or Struggling,
• Only 212 schools, barely 10%, rank as either Very Good or Exemplary.
• The poor academic performance is not due to lack of support from taxpayers – funding for Washington public education is at record highs.
• Public schools receive just over $10 billion a year, or $10,200 per student, in operating funds, plus an additional $1.3 billion for school construction.
• Since 1980 education spending, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled, while the number of students, due to smaller families, has increased by only a third.
• There are fewer students today in relation to the total population than in the past, and spending per student is the highest ever.
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