Every child in Washington State should have access to a high quality education. Every classroom should be led by a superior teacher with a strong subject-matter background. Every student should have extra help available to meet education standards. Every high school graduate should leave school able to enter post-secondary education and/or the workforce. Unfortunately, too many children in Washington are not provided adequate opportunities for success.

Below is a snapshot of our K-12 system and some of the major challenges we need to address to ensure our children are successful in school and life.

Basic Facts

*These numbers represent the most recent data. Comparison charts on other pages may use older data so that we may compare Washington more accurately to other states.
†Does not include supplemental pay.

K-12 Finance: Washington's Schools Are Underfunded

Washington State's Constitution contains one of the strongest commitments to public education in the country. And yet, Washington spends almost $1,200 per student less than the national average and nearly $7,000 less than the top spender (New Jersey). Our K-12 finance system is largely inflexible and based on an outdated funding formula that does not address the current realities in Washington schools. Additionally, Washington's teachers earn $3,300 below the national average and almost $14,000 below the national leader (Connecticut) and most states in the region.

Read more about Washington's K-12 finance system.

Supporting Educators

One of the largest factors in determining student success is teacher quality. In order to attract capable and effective teachers, we need to offer teachers quality professional development, time to plan curriculum and lessons, and opportunities to collaborate with other teachers. A comprehensive teacher data system would allow the state and districts to better understand teacher shortage areas and analyze teacher effectiveness.

Read more on providing support for educators.

Math & Science

Attracting top talent to teaching is a challenge, especially in math and science. A majority of school districts report considerable teacher shortages in math, chemistry and physics, and some shortages in general science, middle level math/science, biology and earth science. Unless we can attract top talent into our teacher education programs, Washington's students will continue to struggle. Less than 50 percent of students who take the Science WASL passed in 2006-07, and the achievement gap on the Math WASL hovers around 30 percentage points between White and Asian students and African-American, Latino, and Native American students.

Read more about math and science.

The Achievement Gap

Nationwide and statewide standardized tests and dropout rate statistics show a troubling and pervasive achievement gap exists between groups of students by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Our state's prosperity and well-being depends on how well we prepare our children to succeed in school and meet the demands of the new economy. When we fail, the door of opportunity closes on our children. Businesses find qualified workers elsewhere and our economy suffers.

Read more about the achievement gap.