RENTON, Wash. – On March 29, the Washington Educational Research Association (WERA) honored the Washington State Board of Education for their development of the Achievement Index, a database that provides an analysis of Washington public schools’ performance.

The award presentation took place during the WERA Spring Conference, which focused on the resources available for those seeking to measure student, school, and district achievement.

The Achievement Index is one such resource. Users can look up reading, math, writing, and science performance by school (as well as performance on extended graduation rates for the state’s high schools). The Index also provides data on student performance based on ethnicity or household income level, a school’s achievement gap, how the school is performing in comparison to schools of similar student demographics, and how much a school has improved over time.

The Achievement Index is a free tool available to the public via the State Board of Education’s website (www.sbe.wa.gov). The Index is also used to identify the state’s top-performing schools through the Washington Achievement Awards, a program co-sponsored by the State Board of Education and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

In March, OSPI submitted Washington’s application to the U.S. Department of Education for a flexibility waiver from the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act / No Child Left Behind accountability system. That application included a request to use an updated Achievement Index as the primary metric by which to evaluate school performance, identify schools requiring improvement, and recognize schools that are top performers. Representatives from OSPI are anticipating the final evaluation of that application by spring 2012.

The Achievement Index tool and supporting materials are available at www.sbe.wa.gov.

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Contact: Aaron Wyatt, Communications and Legislative Director

About the State Board of Education: The State Board of Education provides advocacy and strategic oversight of public education. The board is comprised of 16 members: five are elected by school board directors, seven are appointed by the Governor, two serve as student representatives, and one serves as a private school representative. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is also a member.

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