OSPI data shows Basin schools performance

OLYMPIA — The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction releases a report card with data about every school district in the state. The data is updated year-round as new information is reported to OSPI. This is the breakdown of school districts in Grant and Adams counties. 

Coulee-Hartline 

There were 181 students enrolled in Coulee-Hartline School District for the school year of 2023-24, making it the second smallest school district in the two counties. Almira School District students join Coulee-Hartline for high school; those students are not included. Of those students, 45.9% were low-income. There is no information listed on the number of English language learners.  

In 2022-23 around 81.3% of Coulee-Hartline students graduated in four years, which was slightly lower than the state average which is 83.6%. 

The percentage of students in the spring of 2024 on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was above Washington average in all three areas tested with 60.9% in English Language Arts, 59.4% in math and 62.9% in science. For students showing foundational grade knowledge, the district was above state average again with 84.4% in ELA, 79.7% in math and 80% in science.  

In Coulee-Hartline School District, 78.1% of students attended 90% of school days or more in 2022-23 which was higher than the state average of 69.7%.

There was an average student expenditure in 2022-23 of $20,633 with an average class size of 8 students. There were around 20 classroom teachers in the district who on average had 9.4 years of teaching experience. 

Ephrata 

For the 2023-24 school year, Ephrata School District had an enrollment of 2,860 students, making it the fourth-largest district in the two counties. Among these students, 64.6% were from low-income backgrounds, and 15.3% were English language learners. 

“The OSPI report card is a valuable tool we use as we reflect on our work,” Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “It allows us to celebrate our successes ... while also identifying areas for growth. We exist for kids and their learning. This important tool helps us measure our progress toward our educational objectives and our commitment to excellence." 

In the 2022-23 school year, approximately 94.3% of students graduated within four years, the highest rate among local districts. 

For the spring of 2024, the percentage of students on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below the Washington average: 45.9% in English Language Arts, 36.1% in math, and 40.8% in another math assessment. Students demonstrating foundational grade knowledge fell below the state average with 70.2% in ELA and 62.9% in math but exceeded the state average in science with 66.3%. 

In the 2022-23 school year, 68.1% of students attended 90% of school days or more, which was lower than the state average of 69.7%. 

The average student expenditure for the 2022-23 school year was $15,487, with an average class size of 18.5 students. The district employed approximately 157 classroom teachers, who had an average of 14.9 years of teaching experience. 

Lind 

There were 200 students enrolled in Lind School District for the school year of 2023-24, making them the third-smallest school district surveyed. Of those students 78% were low-income and 15.5% were English language learners.  

In 2022-23 there was no information listed on graduation rates because Lind and Ritzville school districts share a high school; The information on the two districts' graduation rates is on Ritzville’s report card.  

The percentage of students in the spring of 2024 on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below state average in all three areas: 35% in English language arts, 27.2% in math and 30% in science. For students showing foundational grade knowledge, the district was below state average with 60.2% in ELA, 50.5% in math and 57.5% in science.  

Some 64.7% of students attended 90% of school days or more in 2022-23, which was lower than the state average of 69.7%.  

Average student expenditure in 2022-23 was $31,222 with an average class size of 5.9 students. There were around 34 classroom teachers in the district with an average of 14.7 years’ teaching experience. 

Moses Lake 

Moses Lake School District had an enrollment of 8,835 students for the 2023-24 school year, making it the largest district across the two counties. Of these students, 65.6% came from low-income backgrounds and 15.2% were English language learners. 

During the 2022-23 school year, 80.0% of students graduated within four years, which was slightly below the state average of 83.6%. 

In the spring of 2024, the percentage of students on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below the Washington state average in all categories: 37.4% in English language arts, 29.8% in math and 34.9% in science. When it came to foundational grade knowledge, the district also fell short of the state average, with 61.3% in ELA, 54.9% in math and 54.1% in science. 

“We want to continue to strive for more students to meet our standards, and we are pleased to see an overall gain over 2022 to 2023, over prior years in language arts, math and science,” MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon said.  

For the 2022-23 school year, 67.5% of students attended 90% or more of school days, which was below the state average of 69.7%. 

The average student expenditure for the 2022-23 school year was $17,729, with an average class size of 19 students. The district employed around 491 classroom teachers, who had an average of 14 years of teaching experience.

Othello 

The Othello School District enrolled 4,721 students for the 2023-24 school year, making it the second-largest district in the two counties. Of these students, 83.1% came from low-income backgrounds, and 42.4% were English language learners.  

For the 2022-23 school year, the district achieved a four-year graduation rate of 87.2%, surpassing the state average of 83.6%.  

“There's a lot of things at play right now with that,” Assistant Superintendent Jessica Schenck said. “I guess it would be hard to pinpoint just one thing, but I know that our high school team, both the administrators, counselors, teachers, work really hard at helping students identify different pathways that interest them for what they want to do with their lives, and so that definitely increases engagement.” 

By spring 2024, the percentage of students meeting college-level learning standards without needing remedial classes was below the state average: 29.8% in English Language Arts, 25% in math, and 20% in science. Furthermore, foundational grade knowledge was also below the state average with 57.3% in ELA, 48.6% in math, and 46.7% in science. 

Regarding attendance, 76.8% of students attended 90% or more of school days in the 2022-23 school year, exceeding the state average of 69.7%.  

“But we really see it as a challenge, because there's still a lot of room for growth there,” Schenck said. “Our goal is that 100% of our kids would be attending school on a daily basis. So, we see it as a challenge to continually work better, to serve all of our kids.” 

The average expenditure per student for the 2022-23 school year was $16,890, with an average class size of 9.5 students. The district employed approximately 281 classroom teachers, who had an average of 10.6 years of teaching experience.

Quincy 

During the 2023-24 school year, there were 3,206 students enrolled in the Quincy School District, making it the third-largest school district of those surveyed. Of these students, 78.9% were from low-income backgrounds and 42.8% were English language learners. 

In the 2022-23 school year, approximately 85.4% of students graduated within four years, surpassing the state average of 83.6%.  

“As far as graduation rate, we have amazing high school staff, amazing counselors that work really hard to ensure that we're looking at graduation readiness, just not from the standpoint of a student being a senior,” Superintendent Nik Bergman said. “But that work starts in freshmen to make sure that families are aware of (their) graduation status, to make sure that you know all the way through whether or not they're on track to graduate.” 

In the spring of 2024, the percentage of students on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below the state average in all three subjects: 34.5% in English Language Arts, 19.9% in math, and 26.3% in science. Additionally, the district fell below the state average for students demonstrating foundational grade knowledge, with 59.7% in ELA, 45.9% in math, and 50.9% in science. 

Moreover, 63.5% of students attended 90% or more of school days in 2022-23, which was lower than the state average of 69.7%. 

“So, one thing that we are doing is we're trying to engage all of our families at conferences,” Bergman said. “We had a really high attendance rate at the conference. And you know, attendance is part of every single child's student-led conference. We had, just recently, individual conversations with each family about their child's attendance. Right now, we're sitting at about 70% attendance rate in the district, so we're monitoring that very, very closely.” 

For the 2022-23 school year, the average expenditure per student was $18,799, and the average class size was 18.4 students. The district had 204 classroom teachers with an average of 10.1 years of teaching experience. 

Ritzville 

During the 2023-24 school year, the Ritzville School District had an enrollment of 407 students. Among these, 51.1% came from low-income families, and 0.5% were English language learners. 

In the 2022-23 school year, 70.8% of students graduated within four years, which was lower than the state average of 83.6%. 

In spring 2024, the district’s students performing on track for college-level learning without remedial classes scored below the Washington state average in two subjects: 46.8% in English Language Arts and 34.9% in math. However, they exceeded the state average in science, with 47.8%. 

For foundational grade knowledge, Ritzville was above the state average in ELA at 71.6% and in science at 67.8%, but below in math, at 66.1%. 

In terms of attendance, 71.6% of students attended 90% or more of school days in 2022-23, surpassing the state average of 69.7%. 

During the 2022-23 school year, the district spent an average of $19,174 per student. The average class size was 7.9 students, and there were approximately 58 classroom teachers, each with an average of 12.9 years of teaching experience. 

Soap Lake 

There were 557 students enrolled in Soap Lake School District for the school year of 2023-24. Of those students 87.1% were low income and 25.3% were English language learners.  

In 2022-23 around 80% of them graduated in four years, which was slightly lower than the state average of 83.6% of students.   

The percent of students in the spring of 2024 on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below Washington average in all three with 18.4% in English Language Arts, 9.3% in math and 13.8% in science. For students showing foundational grade knowledge, the district was below Washington average again with 36.7% in ELA, 29% in math and 27.6% in science.  

In 2022-23 56.5% of students attended 90% of school days or more, which was lower than the state average of 69.7%.  

There was an average student expenditure in 2022-23 of $20,656 with the average class size of 15.8 students. There were around 35 classroom teachers in the district who on average had 8.6 years of teaching experience. 

Wahluke 

During the 2023-24 school year, Wahluke School District had 2,485 students enrolled. Of these, 74.5% were from low-income families and 53.6% were English language learners. 

In the 2022-23 school year, about 84.5% of students graduated within four years, slightly outperforming the state average of 83.6%. 

In spring 2024, the percentage of students on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below the state average in all three subjects: 25.3% in English language arts, 17% in math, and 18.2% in science. For foundational grade knowledge, the district was also below the state average, with 49.1% in ELA, 41% in math, and 43.3% in science. 

In terms of attendance, 74.4% of students attended 90% or more of school days in 2022-23, surpassing the state average of 69.7%. 

During the 2022-23 school year, the district spent an average of $20,756 per student. The average class size was 18 students, and there were approximately 162 classroom teachers, each with an average of 9.7 years of teaching experience. 

Warden 

There were 943 students enrolled in Warden School District for the school year of 2023-24. Of those students 80.2% were low-income and 29.6% were English language learners. 

In 2022-23 around 80.3% of them graduated in four years, which was slightly lower than the state average which is 83.6% of students.   

The percent of students in the spring of 2024 on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below Washington average in all three with 32.9% in English language arts, 22.9% in math and 28.6% in science. For students showing foundational grade knowledge, the district was below the state average again with 58.7% in ELA, 47.4% in math and 53.3% in science.

Warden had 64.9% of students attending 90% of school days or more in 2022-23 which was lower than the state average of 69.7%.  

Average student expenditure for Warden in 2022-23 of $19,538 with an average class size of 17.1 students. There were around 58 classroom teachers in the district with an average of 8.7 years' teaching experience. 

Wilson Creek 

During the 2023-24 school year, Wilson Creek School District, the smallest district in the local area, had 117 students enrolled. Of these students, 53.8% came from low-income families, and 1.7% were English language learners. 

No data was available on four-year graduation rates. 

In spring 2024, the percentage of students on track for college-level learning without needing remedial classes was below the state average in all three subjects: 43.9% in English Language Arts, 38.6% in math, and 23.1% in science. For foundational grade knowledge, the district was above the state average in English Language Arts, with 71.9%, but below average in math and science, with 61.4% and 57.7%, respectively. 

In terms of attendance, 73.3% of students attended 90% or more of school days in the 2022-23 school year, exceeding the state average of 69.7%. 

During the same school year, the district spent an average of $32,422 per student. The average class size was 6.4 students. There were about 15 classroom teachers, with an average of 15.8 years of teaching experience. 

      

    Statewide, Washington had about 1.1 million students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year according to OSPI.