Washington State Common Core Test (SBAc) Results: State vs Evergreen vs Vancouver vs Battle Ground

Washington State Common Core (SBAc) Test Results 2014/15 to 2016/17 (3 years)

This is the culmination of our reports on the SBAc test results of three (3) school district in Southwest Washington (SWW). We previously published data for the State of Washington; Evergreen SD; Vancouver SD and the Battle Ground SD. Those three districts are by far the largest in SWW.

In the following tables we compare the four (4) groups to each other in two ways:

1st:   By grade (3 to 8). We are not including high school because so few took the test that the outcomes are simply not usable. Within the grades we break out the English Language Arts (ELA) and Math separately.

2nd:  We tracked students as they moved up in grade. So 3^rd became 4^th that became 5^th. Three years of data allows us to track four (4) age groups. Within those we also break out the State and the three (3) SD’s.

It’s our hope that this data allows comparison of similar size school districts (Evergreen and Vancouver are within a few thousand students of each other while Battle Ground trails by ~10,000 students). We’ll ask some questions as we walk through each of the comparisons and overall.

Without further ado…

Thoughts:

1. Evergreen appears to have outperformed VSD and BGSD in ELA.
2. All fell short of the State
3. The % of students getting a passing grade hovers around 50% so 50% are failing
4. Is it that students are dumber or is the test bad or is the Common Core curriculum lowering performance?

Thoughts:

1. It appears Battle Ground performed slightly better on math than ESD or VSD but all fell short of the State
2. When we look at the percents passing it’s terrible. There are a number of grades where 60% are failing

Thoughts:

1. Tracking the students as they advance in grade (so we are more likely to get the same students minus those who move) shows that BGSD is doing a better job

Thoughts:

1. As students progressed in grade for the 3 year period trackable only one group: 6-7-8 showed improvment across the board
2. Something is seriously wrong in math. Either the students, the teaching or the curriculum or some unique combination of all…something MUSY be done!

Money – Let’s take a look at how much the three SD’s spent per student in 2016/17 and what the increase in the 3 year testing period was:

Notes:

1. Inflation rate for the 3 year period was 3% (total for all 3 years not each year). So these SD’s increased spending at rates that were 5-7x the rate of inflation.
2. The student mix (ethnic) didn’t change appreciably
3. BGSD was within $500 of VSD in spend and $1,000 of the ESD. VSD was within $500 of the ESD.
4. Money isn’t the answer. Other factors are playing a role(s).
5. We don’t have access to economic data to use for comparisons but we did find some links that we can’t vouch for but may help those who want to dig deeper:
   1. Clark County: https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/WA/Clark-County-Demographics.html
   2. Evergreen: https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/WA/Clark-County/Evergreen-School-District-Clark-Demographics.html
   3. Vancouver: https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/WA/Vancouver-Demographics.html
   4. Battle Ground: https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/WA/Clark-County/Battle-Ground-School-District-Demographics.html

Why look at demographics? Some people suggest that the family economic status impacts school performance. More money = better results while poor families have lower test scores.

How much does each State spend per student? It take a while to get data compiled so the newest report we found was for 2014. Here’s that link: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html You will notice that all three districts were around the State average and Washington State was in the middle nationally.

The NEA report: http://www.nea.org/home/70716.htm says that in 2016 the national average spend per student was $11,984 per student so all three districts were close to or above that number.

Summary:

• Is the SBAc a tool that actually measures or is it just a way for education vendors to make money? The companies who sell the test also sell the books and support materials that are need to prepare for the test.
• Some are suggesting that the Common Core curriculum and “new” teaching methods are harming students
• Is it time to question the direction of education, the expenses and return to assuring that students can read, write and do math first and foremost?

If you would like to read the individual articles on each of the three (3) SD’s we analyzed here are the links:

Battle Ground:   http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4299 

Vancouver:   http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4320 

Evergreen:   http://www.swweducation.org/?p=4315