Summary:
The Highland School District in Washington serves elementary students through two schools: Marcus Whitman-Cowiche Elementary for grades PK-2 and Tieton Elementary School for grades 3-5, together educating 451 students in a district ranked in the 33rd percentile statewide.
These schools show distinct profiles. Marcus Whitman-Cowiche has a lower rate of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch and higher per-student spending. Tieton Elementary serves a higher-poverty population and is responsible for state testing, where its performance is on a strong upward trend, improving its statewide ranking from the 23rd to the 39th percentile in two years. While Tieton's scores in English and Science are below the state average, its overall math proficiency is nearly at the state level, driven by particularly strong 4th-grade results.
Key insights for parents include Tieton's notable academic improvement and the significant variation in performance between grades, with 4th-grade math excelling while 5th-grade math lags. The difference in per-student funding between the schools, with more resources directed to the younger grades, is another point of consideration. Overall, the Highland School District faces common challenges, but Tieton's rapid gains suggest effective strategies are being implemented to help students grow.
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