Historical public education information in Washington, 2011-2015

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on Washington's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view Washington's public education page.

The Washington public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 Washington had 1,045,453 students enrolled in a total of 2,365 schools in 316 school districts. While the national ratio of teachers to students was 1:16, in Washington there were 53,119 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 20 students. There was roughly one administrator for every 373 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Washington spent $9,483 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 30th in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 77 percent in 2012. This was the Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate reported to the United States Department of Education for all students in 2011-2012.

State agencies

See also: Washington Department of Education

The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction oversees K-12 public education in the state. The office is led by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. As of June 2015, this position was filled by Randy Dorn, who was first elected in 2008.

The Washington State Board of Education has 16 statutory members. Five members are elected by school board members, two from eastern Washington and three from western Washington, and seven members are appointed by the governor. There is one private school representative on the Board of Education who is elected by members of state-approved private schools. The Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction also serves on the State Board of Education and is elected to the position by all voters of the state. All these positions have full voting rights on all matters brought to the Board of Education. The last two members, two high school students, one from western Washington and one from eastern Washington, are nonvoting members. They are selected to serve by the Washington Association of Student Councils.

The mission statement of the Washington State Board of Education reads

“

The mission of the State Board of Education is to lead the development of state policy, provide system oversight, and advocate for student success.

”

Regional comparison

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Washington compared to three neighboring states in 2011-2012 with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Regional comparison, 2011-2012
State	Schools	Districts	Students	Teachers	Teacher/pupil ratio	Administrator/pupil ratio	Per pupil spending
Washington	2,365	316	1,045,453	53,119	1:19.7	1:373.1	$9,483
Idaho	762	149	279,873	15,990	1:17.5	1:422.5	$6,824
Montana	826	500	142,349	10,153	1:14.0	1:274.0	$10,639
Oregon	1,261	221	568,208	26,791	1:21.2	1:364.8	$9,682
United States	98,328	17,992	49,521,669	3,103,263	1:16	1:295.2	$10,994
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "State Nonfiscal Public Elementary/Secondary Education Survey", 2011-12 v.1a. National Center for Education Statistics, "Table 2. Number of operating public schools and districts, state enrollment, teacher and pupil/teacher ratio by state: School year 2011–12" U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Demographics

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Washington as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2011-2012.

Demographic information for Washington's K-12 public school system, 2011-2012
Ethnicity	Students	State percentage	United States percentage**
American Indian	15,850	1.52%	1.10%
Asian	74,574	7.13%	4.68%
African American	47,715	4.56%	15.68%
Hawaiian Nat./Pacific Isl.	9,308	0.89%	0.42%
Hispanic	205,031	19.61%	24.37%
White	629,898	60.25%	51.21%
Two or More	63,077	6.03%	2.54%
**Note: This is the percentage of all students in the United States that are reported to be of this ethnicity.

Enrollments by region type

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

A plurality of students in Washington attended suburban schools during school year 2011-2012. Approximately 70 percent of the state's students attended suburban or city schools, compared to approximately 30 percent who attended rural or town schools.

Student distribution by region type, 2011-2012 (as percents)
State	City schools	Suburban schools	Town schools	Rural schools
Washington	29.1%	41.1%	12.3%	17.5%
Idaho	27.5%	15.9%	20.8%	35.8%
Montana	23.8%	1.9%	35.0%	39.4%
Oregon	32.6%	23.3%	26.3%	17.8%
U.S. average	28.9%	34.0%	11.6%	25.4%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD)

Academic performance

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Idaho, Montana, and Oregon), Washington had the highest percentage of students score at or above proficient in math and reading in fourth grade and eighth grade in 2012-2013.

Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013
	Math - Grade 4	Math - Grade 8	Reading - Grade 4	Reading - Grade 8
Washington	48%	42%	40%	42%
Idaho	40%	36%	33%	38%
Montana	45%	40%	35%	40%
Oregon	40%	34%	33%	37%
U.S. average	41%	34%	34%	34%
Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Washington and surrounding states for 2012 and 2013.

Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores*
State	Graduation rate, 2012		Average ACT composite, 2012		Average SAT composite, 2013
	Percent	Quintile ranking**	Score	Participation rate	Score	Participation rate
Washington	77%	Fourth	22.9	21%	1537	60%
Idaho	92%	First	21.6	67%	1364	99%
Montana	84%	Second	22	61%	1595	25%
Oregon	68%	Fifth	21.4	38%	1539	49%
U.S. average	80%		21.1		1498
*Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Rate (except for Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, which did not report “Regulatory Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate,” but instead used their own method of calculation). **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express

Dropout rate

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Washington was higher than the national average at 4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.8 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.

Educational choice options

See also: School choice in Washington

As of June 2015, school choice options in Washington included charter schools, homeschooling, online learning, private schools and two mandatory public school open enrollment policies.

Education funding and expenditures

See also: Washington state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Washington spent approximately 22.9 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. This was down 0.2 percentage points, a 0.9 percent decrease in the share of the budget from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 23.1 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education. Over half of Washington's education revenue comes from state funding. Local funding accounts for just over 31 percent, and federal funding accounts for nearly 12 percent.

Comparison of financial figures for school systems
State	Percent of budget (2012)	Per pupil spending (2011)	Revenue sources (2011)
			Percent federal funds	Percent state funds	Percent local funds
Washington	22.9%	$9,483	11.57%	57.2%	31.23%
Idaho	25.7%	$6,824	13.91%	63.73%	22.36%
Montana	15.5%	$10,639	16.35%	44.1%	39.55%
Oregon	14%	$9,682	14%	46.07%	39.93%
Sources: NASBO, "State Expenditure Report," Table 8: Elementary and Secondary Education Expenditures As a Percent of Total Expenditures U.S. Census Bureau, "Public Education Finances: 2011,Governments Division Reports," issued May 2013

Revenue breakdowns

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in Washington totaled approximately $11.8 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for Washington and surrounding states.

Revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	Federal revenue	State revenue	Local revenue	Total revenue
Washington	$1,367,629	$6,758,505	$3,690,190	$11,816,324
Idaho	$299,354	$1,371,789	$481,296	$2,152,439
Montana	$264,594	$713,886	$640,138	$1,618,618
Oregon	$848,637	$2,792,762	$2,420,619	$6,062,018
U.S. total	$74,943,767	$267,762,416	$264,550,594	$607,256,777
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=650x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Federal revenue,State revenue,Local revenue Washington,11.57,57.20,31.23 Idaho,13.91,63.73,22.36 Montana,16.35,44.10,39.55 Oregon,14.00,46.07,39.93 U.S. total,12.34,44.09,43.56 </pbars>

Public school revenues by source, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Expenditure breakdowns

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in Washington totaled approximately $11.9 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for Washington and surrounding states.

Expenditures by type, fiscal year 2011 (amounts in thousands)
	General expenditures**	Capital outlay	Other***	Total expenditures
Washington	$9,890,471	$1,467,334	$530,786	$11,888,591
Idaho	$1,867,679	$85,001	$65,674	$2,018,354
Montana	$1,506,467	$103,728	$25,691	$1,635,886
Oregon	$5,418,357	$461,979	$325,080	$6,205,416
U.S. total	$520,577,893	$52,984,139	$29,581,293	$603,143,325
**Funds spent operating local public schools and local education agencies, including such expenses as salaries for school personnel, student transportation, school books and materials, and energy costs, but excluding capital outlay, interest on school debt, payments to private schools, and payments to public charter schools. ***Includes payments to state and local governments, payments to private schools, interest on school system indebtedness, and nonelementary-secondary expenditures, such as adult education and community services expenditures. Source: National Center for Education Statistics

\| \n <pbars size=500x300 title="" grid=true ymin=0 ymax=100 legend colorscheme=excel> ,Current expenditures,Capital outlay,Other Washington,83.19,12.34,4.46 Idaho,92.53,4.21,3.25 Montana,92.09,6.34,1.57 Oregon,87.32,7.44,5.24 U.S. total,86.31,8.78,4.90 </pbars>

Public school expenditures, fiscal year 2011 (as percents)

Personnel salaries

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

Note: Salaries given are averages for the state. Salaries may vary between a state's urban, suburban, and rural districts and should be adjusted for cost of living. For example, a MacIver Institute study of average teacher salaries in 60 metropolitan areas found that salaries in New York City were the third-highest in absolute figures but 59th-highest when adjusted for the cost of living.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Washington, the average salary decreased by 4.5 percent.

Estimated average salaries for teachers (in constant dollars**)
	1999-2000	2009-2010	2011-2012	2012-2013	Percent difference
Washington	$56,089	$56,578	$53,101	$53,571	-4.5%
Idaho	$48,578	$49,404	$49,359	$49,734	2.4%
Montana	$43,896	$48,845	$49,354	$49,999	13.9%
Oregon	$57,856	$58,948	$58,302	$58,758	1.6%
U.S. average	$57,133	$58,925	$56,340	$56,383	-1.3%
**"Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis. The CPI does not account for differences in inflation rates from state to state."

Organizations

Unions

In 2012, the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Washington ranked 10th overall, or strongest, which was in the first tier of five.

The main union related to the Washington school system is the Washington Education Association (WEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). WEA is the largest education association in the state. The second largest union is AFT Washington, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers.

List of local Washington school unions:

• Washington Education Association
• AFT Washington
• Seattle Education Association
• Everett Education Association
• Tacoma Education Association
• Spokane Education Association
• Issaquah Education Association
• Washington Education Association Riverside
• Marysville Education Association
• Bellevue Education Association

Government sector lobbying

See also: Washington government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Washington State School Directors' Association. Another government sector lobbying organization is the Washington Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Transparency

The Washington State Fiscal Information site is available here. It was created in 2008 after Senate Bill 6818 was passed, mandating that such a website be implemented by January 1, 2009.

Studies and reports

State Budget Solutions education study

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also

• Public education in Washington
• Washington
• Education Policy in the U.S.