Contact: John Barnes
206-937-9691
jbarnes@washingtonpolicy.org

Seattle – A new report released by Washington Policy Center (WPC) today rates the quality of schools in the Pierce County-area school districts.  WPC’s new Public School Accountability Index is based on data compiled by the State Board of Education’s 2010 Achievement Index.  Two-thirds of the area’s schools are listed as Struggling or Fair.  Struggling is the lowest ranking, indicating school officials are failing to educate students according to state standards.  No schools ranked Exemplary and only six schools are listed as Very Good.

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

Bethel School District
Best: Challenger Secondary
Worst: Spanaway Elementary

Clover Park School District
Best: Oakwood Elementary
Worst: Oak Grove

Fife School District
Best: Fife High School
Worst: Learning Opportunity

Franklin Pierce School District
Best: Morris Ford Middle
Worst: Gates Secondary

Lakewood School District
Best: Lakewood High
Worst: Cougar Creek Elementary

Puyallup School District
Best: Ridgecrest Elementary
Worst: Spinning Elementary

Steilacoom Hist. School District
Best: Chloe Clark Elementary
Worst: Washington Virtual Academy

Sumner School District
Best: Daffodil Valley Elementary
Worst: Emerald Hills Elementary

Tacoma School District
Best: Lowell Elementary
Worst: First Creek Middle

University Place School District
Best: University Place Primary
Worst: Curtis Junior High

White River School District
Best: Elk Ridge Elementary
Worst: Collins Alternative

WPC’s Public School Accountability Index is based on data compiled by the State Board of Education’s 2010 Achievement Index, conducted to determine whether local school officials are fulfilling their paramount duty under the state constitution to provide a quality education for every child.  The Index ranks schools as Exemplary, Very Good, Good, Fair or Struggling.  A rating of Struggling is an indication local school officials are failing in their educational mission.

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

Key Findings:

• 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.

Governor Gregoire says she found that more spending does not improve learning for children: “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 without increasing spending are described in Washington Policy Center’s education reform plan, Eight Practical Ways to Reverse the Decline in Public Schools.