“It is time for this case to end”

The Temple of Justice: Washington State Supreme Court

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson recently updated the State Supreme Court in two legal briefs (see here and here) on the State’s progress funding education as part of the Court’s oversight in the long-running McCleary dispute.

Today the State Supreme Court will hear from lawyers on both sides of the case in oral arguments scheduled to last about an hour.

Here are key takeaways from Ferguson’s two updates to the Court:

Massive increases in school funding – Ferguson argues that with passage of three state budgets since 2011, along with a new 2017 law to overhaul how we fund schools and pay teacher salaries, the state has increased education spending by record amounts and has fulfilled its constitutional obligations. From the briefs (emphasis added):

“The Legislature has doubled state K-12 education funding since this Court’s 2012 decision. . .. The massive increase in funding supports numerous policy improvements and fully implements the educational reforms this Court endorsed in 2012.” (July 31^st brief, p. 1)
“The legislation enacted in 2017 implements a new system of compensation that allocates state funding to support the full cost of salaries for staff.“ (July 31^st brief, pp. 8,9)
“The legislature has increased funding for K-12 education from $13.4 billion in the 2011-13 biennium to $26.6 billion in the 2019-21 biennium – well beyond what enrollment and inflation would have required.” (Sept. 8th brief, p. 1)

State budgets versus local control – Ferguson addresses confusion around repeated claims that some school districts – even with the state’s record investments in education – need more money.

Under Washington law, the state funds education allocating dollars using an agreed-to model (the “proto-typical schools model”). But under our system of local control, it’s up to each school district to figure out how to best spend the allocated dollars. That’s because what works in Spokane may not work in Bellevue, and what students need in Kirkland might be different from students in Pasco.

According to Ferguson, Plaintiffs in McCleary rest their claims on the untenable premise that the State is obligated to reimburse every local expenditure. From the brief:

“Under their [the Plaintiffs] model, the State would be obligated to pay whatever amount of money each of the 295 independent school districts has expended. This is not a model for financial or educational accountability, and it has not been mandated by the Court.” (Sept. 8^th brief, pp. 4,5)

Legislature, not courts – Plaintiffs, and more recently other advocacy groups, have argued for the adoption of new and different policies for how we pay for schools. Many of these proposals would require an overhaul of the state’s taxation system (e.g., adoption of a capital gains income tax, closing certain tax preferences, or a state income tax). But as we all learned in Schoolhouse Rock, the legislature – not the courts – is where laws are made – and Ferguson makes this point directly in his brief (emphasis added):

“The State does not in any way discount the value of information received from advocates for education. . .. But no such proposal – even an excellent one advocated in the course of litigation – automatically becomes an element of the State’s program of basic education or establishes a constitutional requirement. . .. Amendments to law should be accomplished by lobbying the legislature, not the Court.” (Sept. 8^th brief, p. 35)

State is committed to funding – Although a recent poll showed over half of likely voters had never heard of the McCleary case, passions among those involved run high. At times that’s resulted in needlessly hostile and divisive rhetoric, including Plaintiffs’ attorneys comparing state legislators to segregationists and Nazi propagandists. But any final solution to McCleary necessarily requires trust that the legislature’s commitment to education will continue, as it has since 2012. From the brief (emphasis added):

“The time has come in this case for the Court to trust the commitment made by a co-equal branch of government, a commitment that is accompanied by unprecedented increases in funding for K-12 education over a course of years, and by a history of steadfast adherence to the deadlines committed to. . .. The State is in compliance. No further remedy is necessary. The Court need not retain jurisdiction any longer. It is time for this case to end.” (Sept. 8^th brief, p. 42)

In Washington, a surge in teacher hiring

Sep 8 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

Recruiting and hiring high-quality teachers is one of the most important jobs a school district has. And while many districts continue to struggle to fill high-demand teaching positions in specific areas, such as special education, math or science, two items of note show the state is starting to turn the corner when it comes to staffing our schools and classrooms.

Thousands more teachers hired – A new report from the State Senate’s Ways & Means Chair, Sen. John Braun (Centralia), shows that since 2012, the state has added an average of 1,508 new teachers per year since 2012, for a total of just over 6,000 teachers. Looking at long-term trends, over the past four years the rate of hiring has increased significantly, with more classroom teachers added during that time than in the previous 12 years combined. And while each school and school district make staffing decisions based on local needs (and some state mandates), overall the increase in teacher hiring has translated into lower student-to-teacher ratios. According to the same Senate report, as of this past school year (2016-17), the statewide ratio was 1 teacher for every 17.9 students.

Moving forward, the recently enacted 2017-19 state budget includes investments to hire approximately 2,400 more teachers. While it is up to districts to decide at the local level how to allocate money from Olympia, the legislature has made a clear commitment in the state budget to hiring more educators.

Leveraging experienced staff already in schools – a new state law enacted in the 2017 legislative session could help address the shortage in special education teachers by providing an alternative path to teacher certification for para-educators already working with students with disabilities. Neal Morton of The Seattle Times reports the legislation provides a simpler path to teacher certification for some experienced para-educators, which allows school districts to tap into a “deep recruiting pool of thousands of educators who already work with special-needs and other at-risk students.” The bill also provides more training to current para-educators.

According to data in the bill’s language, para-educators provide over 60 percent of instruction to students who either have a disability, are learning English, or are from low-income families. Read more about the new law and how it can help address some teacher shortages, here.

What else could help? – Better pay for teachers in science, math and special education, and for those working in schools with significant number of students living in poverty is one approach consistently cited by policy experts as key. But a recent report suggests that states like Washington are unlikely to see meaningful pay differentiation among teachers anytime soon because of the strong political presence of the state teachers’ union and their commitment to collectively-bargained wages based mostly on seat time and paper credentials and less on expertise in high-demand areas.

Learn more about understanding and addressing teacher shortages here and here.

An update on school spending in Washington

Jun 26 by Beth Sigall 1 Comment

The U.S. Census Bureau collects comprehensive financial information about public elementary and secondary school systems, broken down using multiple measures. Their annual report includes table summaries that provide the best apples-to-apples comparisons of education spending across states.

Here is the most recent data available, released this month, for how much each state spends on K-12 education. Our graphic and tables below help give context to these numbers, with comparisons of Washington to other states in our region and nationally. Numbers reflect all revenue sources combined (federal, state and local).

3rd best in the West – Washington ranks third in our region in per pupil spending, outpacing all West Coast neighbors and all but two western continental states.

State	Per pupil amount
Wyoming	16,055
Montana	11,028
WASHINGTON	10,735
California	10,467
Oregon	10,442
New Mexico	9,752
Colorado	9,245
Nevada	8,615
Arizona	7,489
Idaho	6,923
Utah	6,575

Because the current enacted budget increases state funding by over $1,200 per pupil from fiscal year 2015 to 2017, Washington’s per pupil expenditure should continue to rise in subsequent Census Bureau reports over the next two years. Overall, Washington ranks 27th out of 50 states.

Washington continues to outpace most states for education spending increases – Washington is one of only eight states to increase education spending by more than five percent in a one-year span. From 2014 to 2015, Washington’s per pupil spending increased by 5.2 percent, trailing only six other states and tied with another. The average increase for all states was 3.5 percent.

State	Percentage increase in per pupil spending, 2014 to 2015
WASHINGTON	5.2
Alaska	9.5
California	9.1
Illinois	5.2
New Mexico	8.3
North Dakota	7.8
Pennsylvania	5.4
Vermont	6.2

Over half of new budget will go towards education – Under both the proposed Senate and House plans being considered right now in the state legislature, schools would see substantial additional investments. The Senate plan would increase K-12 spending by $5.79 billion over the next two budget cycles while the House would invest $5.173 billion over that same time. If these numbers hold, over half of the general budget will be invested in education, a feat not seen since the start of Gov. John Spellman’s term (1981-83).

While the state legislature works to finish the 2017-19 budget, and as the state supreme court looks to figure out whether the legislature has met its constitutional duty to amply fund schools in the ten-year-old McCleary case, this data can help give the rest of us context about the progress Washington has made thus far funding schools.

Teen stress: why adults should be concerned

Jun 15 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

Sheri Gazitt, Teen Wise

Issues of teen stress and anxiety, suicide, bullying, drug use and internet safety are top concerns among parents today. Sheri Gazitt is the founder of Teen Wise, an organization that provides life coaching, workshops, presentations and one-to-one coaching for middle and high school students. We recently spoke with her about these topics and what she’s seeing and hearing directly from teens.

Question: The latest Healthy Youth Survey conducted by the Superintendent of Public Instruction and other state agencies revealed an increasing percentage of students in Washington experience significant anxiety or have contemplated suicide. Do these numbers surprise you? Are they consistent with what you are seeing and hearing in your work?

Answer: These numbers are sad but not at all surprising. Anxiety and stress often go hand in hand. Anxiety and stress seem to be something that we have accepted as the norm for our youth these days. It also starts much younger than in the past. In my coaching practice, which focuses on stress, I see girls as young as eight years old. They are worried about tests, homework, friendships, fitting in, and living up to the high standards that we are setting for them.

The numbers that we need to be most concerned about, though, are the number of teens with a suicide plan and who have attempted suicide. The numbers are staggering and brought tears to my eyes. The thought of a young person with a life of possibilities and choices ahead of them feeling so helpless that they want to give up is devastating.

Unfortunately, mental illness begins to emerge during puberty, which is the same time that they are going through so many changes and experiencing so much confusion. At a time when we should be lending them more support in all areas of life, we actually expect more from them and expect independence to emerge overnight.

Question: What can our schools do better to help address the significant mental health challenges we are seeing in teens today? Also, what are some promising practices that you are already seeing in our schools and would like to see more of?

Answer: The schools and teachers cannot be the primary source of mental health triage for our teens. However, the school environment could make changes that would increase the likelihood of teens reaching out for help if needed. The same changes would decrease stress and anxiety for our students. That one change is to create an atmosphere where our youth feel their overall well-being is just as important as grades. This doesn’t mean that teachers can’t be demanding in their standards of excellence or that they should coddle the students. It means that they understand that their students are people. They aren’t machines or robots that trod through life unscathed by demands. It means that teachers understand that there is life outside of school. It means encouraging questions and divergent thinking. It means staying above the fray of student life. In my book, teachers are heroes and have boundless energy to be in a classroom all day in front of their students.

Although paraphrased, this is a real-life example of how a teacher recently introduced a new assignment.

TEACHER: [The teacher chuckles as she says this.] “Now this is a tough assignment. In the past, a lot of students have had trouble with it. They came in to ask me questions and I told them they had to figure it out on their own.”

This tells the students that they’ll struggle, they won’t get help, and the teacher thinks it is funny. The teacher could have said “This next assignment is really tough. You might struggle with it, but I know that you can handle it on your own. You might have some questions but I’d like you to try and work it out for yourselves. If you get stuck, though, you can come and talk to me.” This is bolstering the students’ confidence and growth mindset rather than setting them up for anxiety. Because when students feel that teachers care, they put forth more effort in that class.

Another important change is to have the counselors interacting with the kids on a more regular basis. I don’t mean in the form of more lectures or class presentations. Instead, more class discussions and dialogues. The counselor can come into the classroom and start a discussion about stress or sadness or homework load. Starting these discussions gives the students a chance to talk about it and to hear support and compassion from the counselors.

Right now, from what I hear in the trenches, students don’t see the counselors as approachable. Students are concerned about confidentiality and getting in trouble, and they don’t feel the counselors will make much difference. There is also an issue of counselor availability. When a student comes to a counselor about a problem, it’s taken forethought, contemplation, and courage. If they get to the counselor office only to be told to come back later, that moment of courage is gone. This is a shame because I know that counselors care.

One approach that has been making a huge difference in schools is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). Ironically, it seems that the biggest difference comes when it is embraced by the staff. It’s almost like the teachers and staff are given permission to show compassion and empathy for their students. Rather than punishing it becomes teaching. Rather than showing annoyance by missing homework they ask “why”. When a student acts up, they can consider the emotions involved rather than automatically reaching for the detention slip. One thing that I hear teens talk about quite often is that they feel like they aren’t supposed to show any emotions in the halls of school. SEL shows our youth to embrace, acknowledge, and understand their emotions rather than suppress them.

Question: What about parents? If you could give parents just a few quick tips on how to get started – to help them better understand the emotional climate our teens experience – what would you tell them?

Answer: Our youth are stressed to the max which can lead to so many other issues-anxiety, suicidal thoughts, depression, withdrawal. Much of the stress comes from academic pressures and expectations that are put upon our children from society, teachers, parents, media, and from within. From a young age, we have our children in extra tutoring, extra coaching, lessons for sports, extra testing to get into better programs, tutoring for testing, music lessons, etc. It’s a self-induced rat race.

Maybe parents can’t change society, but they can set the tone in their own household. Don’t buy into the notion that your child needs to be the best of the best at everything. Don’t buy into the notion that being stressed out, sleep deprived and miserable is just a part of being a teenager. And don’t buy into the notion that your child won’t be successful without a 4.5 GPA, 200 hours of volunteer work, 15 AP classes, and five sports championships. Grit, passion, creativity, and the willingness to learn and grow are the essential qualities of someone who will be successful. Become an ally in your child’s growing up process. Encourage learning, failure, and growth rather than expecting perfection. Ask about your child’s well-being before asking about their grades.

Question: A recent Netflix series – “13 Reasons Why” – had received a lot of attention and viewership. Some mental health experts have expressed serious concerns that the show may pose a risk for some teens, particularly those thinking about suicide or self-harm. Are you concerned? What do parents need to know?

This series brings up so many issues- consent, suicide, popularity, sexuality, violence, fitting in, and gossip just to name a few. These issues are intense, the scenes are graphic, and the overall message is one of hopelessness.

For teens who are currently considering suicide, this series can put them over the edge. The character that commits suicide in this show is getting revenge on the people who wronged her, she’s controlling people’s action post mortem, and the whole school is talking about her. It glorifies suicide and, because of flashback scenes with her, it does not show the finality of death. Her suicide notes create almost a game-like scenario with her classmates visiting certain locations around town and doing certain things she tells them to.

My biggest concern is that students are watching this unsupervised and with no follow up discussions. It isn’t just a discussion about suicide either. It’s a discussion about the other issues in the show. Perhaps what is the most dangerous about “13 Reasons Why” is the message that adults are helpless, clueless, and unsupportive. Every time an adult was involved, nothing positive came of it. The counselors were non-direct and aloof. The parents were demanding and not understanding. The school made no changes. All in all, the viewers walk away with the sense that teenage life sucks, adults are completely unaware of the challenges, there is no way to get help, and you are helpless to make any changes.

I would suggest that parents find out if their child has watched this show. Start a conversation about it (not a lecture). Ask them their thoughts, their feelings, their takeaways. Let them know that they can come to you no matter what difficulties they are having. Let them know that they would not be in trouble. And let them know that you love them fully and unconditionally.

Teens helping teens make better choices

Jun 13 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

Understanding that actions have consequences and that your behavior can directly impact others is a big part of growing up. For many teens, it can be one of the more challenging aspects of the transition to independence. And for some teens, the learning curve is steep, and may even include run-ins with law enforcement due to criminal behavior such as shoplifting, truancy or assault.

Recognizing the need for community-based solutions to the challenge of helping youth offenders, King County Superior Court launched the Bellevue Youth Court program in 2008 with the City of Bellevue and other local partners. The program aims to help first and second-time offenders understand the impact their choices have on others, and serves as an alternative to traditional juvenile justice systems.

What’s unique about Youth Court programs like the one in Bellevue is that students serve as volunteers for all the jobs in the legal process – judges, jurors, bailiffs, clerks, as well as prosecuting and defending advocates. There are approximately 20-to-24 of these programs across the state, and about 1500 nationwide.

How does it work? Prosecuting and defense advocates present relevant facts about the case to a jury. For example, the prosecuting advocate might review the police report and other evidence about the crime. Then, the defense advocate shares the accused’s side of the story, which may include information about efforts undertaken to make amends, such as punishment at home.

To participate in the program, teens forego determinations of guilt/innocence and instead agree in advance to the interventions and strategies developed by the volunteer jurors and advocates, such as community service or an after-school program. Once the agreed-to requirements and programs are completed, the youth reports back to Court on progress made (known as a “Completion Hearing“). If successful, the teen earns praise and recognition from the program’s leaders and participants.

A different theory of justice – Restorative justice brings together the offender, the victims and the community at large to help mediate a solution. Bellevue Youth Court’s program uses this approach to help teens understand their conduct has tangible impact in their communities. Teens learn that crimes like shoplifting or property damage aren’t victimless. They have real costs that are passed on to other shoppers, or to property owners/renters who must pay for the cleanup. Put simply, the victim of a crime is your own community.

The community in turn shows its compassion by giving youths the opportunity to share their perspective and take responsibility for their conduct. Recognizing every person has a unique life story, and that people are more complex than any single action they take on any given day, restorative justice looks to rehabilitate teens by providing supports to help them learn to make better choices. So, teens get to share their perspective, which helps create buy-in around the solution.

What participants learn – Helena Stephens, Teen Services Supervisor with the City of Bellevue, says going through the program helps youths better understand the serious implications of what might seem like petty criminal behavior. For example, if a teen convicted of shoplifting at Bellevue Square Mall later shows up on the mall’s premises for any reason, that same teen could be charged and convicted of trespassing. For the volunteers, Stephens observes the program “has been an effective way for young people to contribute to the juvenile justice system” and take their civic responsibilities like jury duty seriously as adults. In fact, some program volunteers end up pursuing careers in the criminal justice system.

Programs like Bellevue Youth Court provide a community-based solution to challenges faced by teens in their initial encounters with the juvenile justice system. You can follow the program on Facebook here.

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Matthew Le, a sophomore at Bellevue Big Picture School, worked with EEN on the research, writing and interviews used in preparation for this article.

Feedback wanted from Lake Wash, Bellevue parents

Jun 10 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

Both the Bellevue and Lake Washington school districts are seeking parent and/or community feedback on important issues.

Bellevue seeks general feedback from parents on how the district is doing. Click here to learn more and take the survey (note: survey closes June 16, 2017).

Lake Washington is looking for input on school start/end times. Click here to take the survey if you are a parent of a student in the district.

Finally, a vision for Washington’s schools

Jun 2 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

The last thing most of Washington’s public school students probably wanted to hear – especially in the last weeks of school – was that their state schools’ chief wants to add more days to the school calendar. Yet that’s exactly what State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal said recently in his launch of a six-year plan to reshape our state’s public schools.

Superintendent Reykdal’s “Education Vision and McCleary Framework” offers up a number of ideas and goals, including more dual language programming, longer and more school days for grades K-8, more options for post-high school careers, improved access to dual-credit options in high school and better pay for teachers.

While these ideas are all worthy of discussion, what’s most notable about Reykdal’s plan is the fact that he has one at all. Because for the past 10 years, the bulk of our statewide education conversations have in large part been consumed – whether by default or by design depending on whom you ask – by the McCleary education funding case. Although Washington has invested $4.6 billion in K-12 education since 2013, and the budget proposals currently under consideration would invest nearly $2 billion more, we still seem mostly stuck in arguments about funding models and pay schedules. And while these are important topics, they aren’t particularly visionary or inspiring.

That’s why Reykdal’s push for a renewed focus on a vision for our schools stands out. From Superintendent Reykdal:

“The challenge to amply fund schools to the satisfaction of the State Supreme Court is not the final goal – it is merely the first step in a much larger transformation that will propel Washington state’s K-12 public schools atop the national conversation in quality, outcomes, and equity. In our state’s history we have engaged in this transformative work only a few times. This is a once-in-a-generation moment to redesign our public schools to achieve our highest ideals.”

Along those same lines, veteran Olympia reporter Austin Jenkins recently asked the president of the state teachers’ union and the head a statewide education nonprofit “what is your post-McCleary vision when we put our 21st century hats on?” Of course, there’s no right answer. But at least we’re finally starting to ask the question.

School spending in Washington – some context

May 9 by Beth Sigall 2 Comments

There’s a lot of data out there about how much we spend on schools. One consistently reliable source is the U.S. Census Bureau. It collects and publishes exhaustive financial information about public elementary and secondary school systems, broken down using multiple measures.

Here are some data points from the most recent Census Bureau report to help give perspective on how much Washington invests in education relative to other states in our region.

State	Per pupil amount
Wyoming	$15, 797
Montana	$11,017
WASHINGTON	$10,202
Oregon	$9,945
New Mexico	$9,734
California	$9,595
Colorado	$8,985
Texas	$8,593
Nevada	$8,414
Arizona	$7,528
Idaho	$6,621
Utah	$6,500

Note: numbers reflect 2014 data – the most recent available – and includes federal, state and local dollars.

Washington spends more per pupil on education than all but two states in the Western region – Overall, Washington sits at 28th out of 51 states (includes Washington D.C.) for per pupil spending on education, at $10,202 per student. Of neighboring/regional states, only Montana ($11,017) and Wyoming ($15, 797) spend more per pupil than Washington.

Washington is among top four in nation for education spending increases – per the most recent data available, Washington is one of only four states to increase education spending by more than five percent in a one-year span. From 2013 to 2014, Washington’s per pupil spending increased by 5.5 percent, trailing only two other states (Connecticut and New Mexico) with Hawaii following closely at 5.4 percent. As a state, Washington invests nearly 50 percent of its entire operating budget on education.

What matters moving forward – there are countless ways to slice and dice data on education spending. These rankings don’t consider other factors, such as cost of living, student demographics, local labor market conditions, and other forces that can drive the cost of paying for schools up or down.

Under both the Senate and the House plans being considered right now in the state legislature, schools would see substantial additional investments. The Senate plan would increase K-12 spending by $5.79 billion over the next two budget cycles while the House would invest $5.173 billion over that same time. Under the Senate plan, every student in Washington would receive a guaranteed minimum of $12,500 in funding, and additional supports if the child has a disability ($7,500), is living in poverty ($2,000 to $5,000), learning English ($1,000) or is homeless ($1,500).

Of course, while money is necessary, it cannot, standing alone, assure Washington students receive a world-class education. There are states that spend more than Washington where students don’t fare as well, states that spend less where students outperform those in Washington, and pretty much everything in between. That’s why the way we invest our dollars in education is just as important as how much we spend.

A quick look at some important numbers

May 8 by Beth Sigall Leave a Comment

May is an important month in the school year. It’s the month when college seniors graduate and when high school seniors settle on their choice of college or some other plan. It’s the month when Washington students take statewide tests and when year-long school projects culminate on tri-fold boards.

The Washington Roundtable, a statewide business group, is using May to draw attention to some important benchmarks that contribute to the vitality of our state. In education, they looked at certain metrics to see how Washington’s schools and students measure up against other states. Here’s an overview of what they found:

Math and science test scores for Washington eighth graders remain high

Top 10 in math – In 2015, 39 percent of eighth graders in Washington scored at or above proficient on the National Assessment of Education Progress (“NAEP”) exam in math, ranking Washington 7^th in the nation. Background: NAEP “is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas” and is considered the gold standard for academic comparisons across states.
Top 20 in science – In 2015, 38 percent of Washington’s eighth graders scored at or above proficient on the NAEP in science, ranking Washington 16^th in the nation, up from its previous ranking of 19th.

High school graduation rates are up but still down – while Washington’s statewide high school graduation rates improved from last year, its overall rank declined. With a 78.2 percent graduation rate for the Class of 2015, Washington ranks 41^st nationally. Of particular concern are graduation rates for certain demographics, such as Black and Hispanic/Latino students, students with disabilities, and students from low-income families. Opportunity Washington, a non-profit policy group representing businesses, broke down the data, and it’s worth reviewing.

The rate of bachelor degrees awarded is in decline – In 2014, Washington’s colleges and universities awarded 4.5 bachelor degrees for every 1,000 students, earning it rank of 42^nd nationally, dropping from a previous ranking of 39^th.

There are many ways to measure the progress of our students and our education system. As state lawmakers look to invest billions of dollars in education as part of current budget talks, they should consider driving dollars towards policies and practices that move the needle on these and other important areas.

AP exams begin for millions of high school students

May 1 by Beth Sigall 7 Comments

Starting today, millions of high school students across the country will take Advanced Placement (AP) exams. These tests are the culmination of rigorous, college-level course work available in 38 different subjects. Developed by The College Board, AP classes afford students the chance to experience in-depth learning while potentially earning college credit.

While there’s been a steady rise of criticism against some types of standardized testing, AP courses remain a popular option for students. And it’s easy to see why. The College Board reports that “eighty-five percent of selective colleges and universities say that a student’s AP experience favorably impacts admission decisions” and that ” students who take AP are much more likely than their peers to complete a college degree on time.” In 2015, over two million students took over four million AP exams.

The Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI) collects data from each school district about AP testing. We took at look at that data for EEN’s districts to provide a snapshot of how many students are taking AP exams and what scores they earned. Note that many (not all) colleges will grant credit or placement with a 3, 4 or 5 score.

School District	Total # of HS students (grades 9-12)	# of exam takers	Percent of HS students taking AP exams	Total # exams taken	Number of exams with scores of 3, 4 or 5	Percent of exams with scores of 3, 4 or 5
Bellevue	5,050	3,539	70%	7,899	5,944	75%
Everett	5,769	1,171	20%	1,866	1,089	58%
Issaquah	6,067	1,089	18%	1,814	1,525	84%
Lake Washington	7,811	2,021	26%	3,895	3,114	80%
Mercer Island	1,501	354	24%	691	600	87%
Northshore	6,425	1,023	16%	1,785	1,297	73%
Riverview	1,079	156	15%	266	210	79%
Snoqualmie Valley	1,935	398	21%	652	518	79%

Recently in Washington, Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib headed up a successful effort to raise money to cover the testing fees for AP and other tests for low-income students this school year, covering a one-time gap federal funds (exam fees range from $53 to $116).

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EEN intern Cami Brix provided research and data analysis for this post.