Questions for Readers Part 3: Trending up or trending down? Waitsburg, Quincy, and Tumwater High

For our third round of school spotlights, we’re featuring Waitsburg High School, Quincy High School, and Tumwater High.

Waitsburg and Quincy share a common positive characteristic: a dramatic upward trend on their Report Cards (i.e. the kind of movement we like to see). Between 2004 and 2008, Waitsburg went from a 3.6 to a 6.4 on the Report Card’s annual overall rating out of ten scale (with 6.0 being the state average). Quincy’s score has risen from a 3.8 to a 6.1—and both schools continue to climb. What do they have in common? What are they doing differently?

 

On the other hand, how does Tumwater High School—one of the most well thought of schools in Thurston County—explain their downward trend? In 2004, Tumwater High scored a respectable 7.2. By 2008, they had dropped two full points to a 5.2 and continue to decline. Questions, anyone?

(Note: Trend indicators only appear in Report Cards when schools have made statistically significant movement in one direction or another)

(Cross-posted at www.libertylive.org)