Standard & Poor's Analysis of Our Schools

May 11,2006

The Chronicle on Wednesday May 10, 2006 published the results of an evaluation by Standard & Poor recognizing outstanding academic improvement. You can check the source Standard & Poor's 'School Matters' at www.schoolmatters.com

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12 Washington School Districts Named Academic Outperformers by Standard & Poor's NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Services today recognized 12 Washington school districts as academic "outperformers." is worth reading! Academic achievement levels were compared with the percentage of economically disadvantaged students because the two indicators are often correlated.

The 12 outperforming districts include Bainbridge Island School District 303, Bellevue School District 405, Cheney School District 360, Colville School District 115, Lopez School District, Mercer Island School District 400, Orcas Island School District, Odessa School District, Pe Ell School District, Rosalia School District 320, Selkirk School District 70 and Tekoa School District 265.

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On this table I've assembled school districts of similar size and the viewer can compare their performances to Oakville (which was not named)
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Oakville
Odessa
Orcas
Pe Ell
Selkirk
Tekoa
Statewide
Enrollment
285
246 514 325 373 206 -
Special Ed. (%)
16.3
1.6 0 10 10.6 12.6 12.3
Annual Dropout Rate (%)
11.4
5.5 2 nr 2.1 1.7 5.8
Free or Reduced Price Meals (5)
70.7
43.8 32.7 53.6 49.5 55 35.9
On-Time Graduation Rate (%)
30
80 89 100 90 100 70
7th Grade Reading (%)
37.5
82.4 92.1 96.4 82.1 94.1 69
7th Grade Math (%)
16.7
52.9 78.1 39.3 63.3 76.5 50.8
7th Grade Writng (%)
26.1
58.8 92.1 60.7 65.5 82.4 61.2
10th Grade Reading (%)
78.3
88.2 88 77.8 95.2 73.7 72.9
10th Grade Math (%)
30.4
58.8 59.2 50 71.4 61.1 47.5
10th Grade Writing(%)
52.2
76.5 83.7 59.3 78.6 61.1 65.2
Classroom Teachers
33
30 51 23 36 20 -
Total number of core academic classes
141
66 90 82 118 37 -
Per Student Total Revenue
11156
10408 8905 9039 9851 12160 7658
Per Student Total Expenditures
11318
10408 8844 8619 9633 12175 7598
Per Student Total Teaching Expenditures
7493
6664 6155 5870 5838 7422 5266
Median Household Income, in thousand $**
35.7
35.4 244.6 28.4 23.8 31.3 40.6
Median Family Income. in thousand $**
38.2
39.3 51.8 35.2 35.7 36.8 66.9
Per Person Income, in thousand $**
14.4
16.3 30.5 13.3 15.4 14.8 35.2
Average Housing Value, in thousand $**
89.1
70 244 84 77.5 71.8 -
County
Grays Harbor
Lincoln San Juan Lewis Pend Orielle
Whitman
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*all data not footnoted retrieved from School District pages located at: reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us

** data retrieved from: www.brainyzip.com

While Oakville does not compare well with these schools the data shows that other small schools, with large numbers of free or reduced price meals can achieve quite well. Household incomes, house values and related data do not seem to detract from performance. Likewise large expenditures per student do not quarantee improved results.

This page created and maintained by Dave Palmer