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Key Findings

1.  The first School Achievement Index in 2010 ranked Washington’s public schools as “Exemplary, (A)” “Very Good, (B)” “Good, (C)” “Fair, (D)” or “Struggling, (F),” based on their performance educating students.
    
2. That Index embarrassed school officials, since it showed 597,000 of Washington students, over half, were assigned to schools ranked as “Fair, (D)” or “Struggling, (F).”
    
3. State Board of Education Chair Jeff Vincent weakened the Index, so that by 2017 it showed 162,000 students assigned to low-quality schools.
    
4. In March 2018, State Superintendent Chris Reykdal and the State Board of Education canceled the Index, replacing it with a new School Improvement Framework.
    
5. The new Framework no longer identifies schools by performance, but shifts responsibility for failing to educate students from schools to taxpayers.
    
6. Top down initiatives like the Index have failed or been repealed again and again.
    
7. Giving parents school choice provides direct, bottom-up accountability for school performance.  
    

Introduction

For years state officials have said education administrators should produce an annual assessment of public schools “that is simple to use and understand” so parents and the general public can be informed about the quality of education public schools are providing to the people of Washington.  The promise was based on the idea that informing the public about the strengths and weaknesses of local schools would lead to consistent improvements that would eliminate the achievement gap, reduce the dropout rate, and increase learning for all students. 

The School Achievement Index

To implement this idea the legislature in 2009 directed the State Board of Education to create a clear School Achievement Index to measure the success or failure of each of Washington’s 2,300 schools in educating students to the learning standards set by the state.  

The new law ordered the State Board of Education to produce a School Achievement Index that was:

• Based on criteria that are fair, consistent, and transparent;
• Included “graduation rates and results from statewide assessments”;
• Was “...easily understood by both employees within the schools and school districts, as well as parents and community members”;  
• “Provided feedback to schools and school districts to self-assess their progress”; 
• Identified exemplary schools and failing schools that needed help to achieve exemplary performance.

Governor Jay Inslee endorsed the idea, saying the public should have access to “a system in which every school in the state receives a letter grade that’s accessible to parents.” 

The purpose of the Index was to give parents and taxpayers a clear, understandable measure of each school’s performance in serving the learning needs of students.  The Governor and the legislature’s intent was that administrators would respond to public pressure and ensure that every child in Washington received a high-quality public education.

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