Poor academic performance

On state assessments, nearly 60% of WWPS students did not meet benchmark in reading, and nearly 70% did not meet benchmark in math.

• See WWPS 2022-23 state assessment results HERE. 

• See WWPS 2021-22 state assessment results HERE.

• See WWPS Fall, 2023 iReady assessment data HERE. Notice the increase in the percentage of students described as 3+ years below grade level as students move from Kindergarten to grade 8.

• See WWPS Spring, 2022 iReady assessment data HERE. Notice that iReady scores generally continue to decline from year to year, especially in middle school. For example, on slide 11 (mathematics), the students in grade 6 during the 20-21 school year fell further behind by the time they were in 7th grade in the 21-22 school year.

  • Note in the following graphic that in both reading and math, there are more students 3+ years below grade level during 2021-2024 than 2018-2022. According to these data, student achievement is decreasing.

Public School Review posts the following statistics on Walla Walla High School. WWPS boasts a 91% graduation rate. If proficiency is so low compared to the graduation rate, it appears that Walla Walla High School students are graduating without proficiency in reading and/or math.

• Walla Walla High School placed in the bottom 50% of all schools in Washington for overall test scores (math proficiency is top 50%, and reading proficiency is bottom 50%) for the 2020-21 school year. 

• The percentage of students achieving proficiency in math is 35% (which is lower than the Washington state average of 50%) for the 2018-19 school year. The percentage of students achieving proficiency in reading/language arts is 59% (which is lower than the Washington state average of 61%) for the 2018-19 school year. 

• Walla Walla High School is ranked within the bottom 50% of all 2,052 schools in Washington (based off of combined math and reading proficiency testing data) for the 2020-21 school year. 

• The graduation rate of Walla Walla High School is 91%, which is higher than the Washington state average of 84%. 

• Statistics and more information may be viewed here: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/walla-walla-high-school-profile