Jake: Washington fell to No. 31 in education rankings despite doubling school spending

Washington just dropped to No. 31 in education rankings. About a decade ago, we were sitting at No. 20 — nothing special, middle of the road, fine. Now we’re in the bottom half of the country. Not good.

When pressed on the drop, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction basically said it boils down to a lack of funding, which is hilarious when you look at the numbers.

Washington has more than doubled its education spending over the past decade. We currently spend roughly $20,300 per student annually — up about 110% from when we ranked 20th. We’re spending a boatload more money and sliding down the rankings. If that’s a funding problem, it’s not the kind they’re describing.

Now let’s talk about Mississippi, because this is where it gets really interesting.

About a decade ago, Mississippi ranked No. 49 in the nation in education. Dead last, essentially. Today, the state ranks No. 16 overall in K-12. In fourth-grade reading and literacy, Mississippi regularly cracks the top 10 — and when you adjust for socioeconomic and demographic factors, they rank No. 1 in the country for fourth-grade reading achievement.

Mississippi’s graduation rate is above the national average of 86.6%. Washington’s graduation rate? 83.6% — which is actually a record high for us. But Mississippi is lapping us, and we’re throwing a party.

What’s the difference in funding between the two states?

Now let’s get back to that pesky funding problem. Mississippi spends about $12,500 per student on average — roughly $8,000 less per kid every single year than Washington. And Mississippi’s teachers are the lowest paid in the country, averaging $53,704 annually. Washington teachers average $91,720, ranking us fourth highest in the nation.

I want to be clear here: I’m not saying we shouldn’t pay teachers well. I have three kids in public school right now, and we love our teachers. I want them to make as much money as they possibly can — as long as they’re great teachers. What I don’t love is being told that Washington keeps sliding in the rankings because we don’t properly fund education. That’s clearly not true when you look at every single metric on the table.

This is a methodology problem. It’s about what we’re deciding to teach in our schools and how we’re deciding to teach it.

So here’s my suggestion for Superintendent Chris Reykdal: Instead of asking Olympia for another blank check, maybe send a delegation to Mississippi. Better yet, go yourself. Find out what they changed and why it’s working, because they are getting dramatically better results for a whole lot less money.

Washington doesn’t need a bigger budget. We need to be willing to learn from someone doing it better.

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