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Each year, the State Board of Education and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction analyze school performance through the Washington State Achievement Index. In addition to the federal Annual Yearly Progress measure, it’s the only statewide school accountability system recognized by both the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education.
The Achievement Index measures student proficiency in math, reading, writing and science, student growth, and college and career readiness (through high school graduation rates). It identifies high-performing schools for recognition and low-performing schools for support. The Index emphasizes improvement and recognition, not punishment.
What doesn’t it do? It doesn’t assign letter grades to schools.
The State Board of Education does not issue letter grades to schools, ever. Such an approach oversimplifies school data, and it doesn’t do justice to school communities working hard to serve students in a number of areas.
If you’d like a complete picture of how a school performed in 2013-2014, check out the Washington State Achievement Index.