Press Release

Contact: Chris Cargill
ccargill [at] washingtonpolicy [dot] org
509-570-2384

Spokane – The new Washington Policy Center Public School Accountability Index reveals disappointing results for many schools in North Central Washington. According to the Index, only one school in five districts in the Wenatchee, Chelan and Omak area is providing children with an Exemplary education – Morgen Owings Elementary. The Index is based on data from the Washington State Board of Education for the 2010-2011 school year. The index ranks schools as Exemplary, Very Good, Good, Fair or Struggling.  Overall, 55% of North Central Washington schools are in the bottom two categories of the index. That’s worse than the statewide results, which show 42% of schools are only Fair or Struggling.

The best and worst scores from each district are listed below.

Wenatchee School District
Best: Washington Elementary
Worst: Abraham Lincoln Elementary

Eastmont School District
Best: Robert E. Lee Elementary
Worst: Eastmont Columbia Virtual Academy

Lake Chelan School District
Best: Morgan Owings Elementary
Worst: Glacier Valley High

Quincy School District
Best: Quincy Junior High
Worst: George Elementary

Omak School District
Best: Omak High
Worst: Washington Virtual Academy

The WPC Public School Accountability Index is a ranking of the 2,075 schools in Washington state. The Policy Center’s Index is based on data compiled by the State Board of Education’s 2011 Achievement Index, conducted to determine whether school officials are fulfilling their paramount duty under the state constitution to provide a quality education for every child.  A close study of the index shows many school rankings are reduced as a result of student performance on math and science tests.

The full WPC School Accountability Index is available online here.  Local schools are listed alphabetically, by district, or by score. WPC’s two-page Policy Note explaining the Accountability Index is available here.

Key findings:

• Just one school in the Wenatchee, Chelan and Omak area is providing children with an Exemplary education
• 42% of Washington public schools are considered only Fair or Struggling 
• 55% of Wenatchee, Chelan and Omak-area schools are considered Fair or Struggling
• Public schools in Washington state receive $10,326 per student, per year in operating funds
• 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

Governor Gregoire says “I put a lot more money into K-12.  But then you sit there and say, ‘Why have I not been able to get the result I set out to achieve?’” Policy changes that would improve learning for children are described in Washington Policy Center’s education reform plan, Eight Practical Ways to Reverse the Decline in Public Schools.