Summary:
The Columbia (Walla Walla) School District has only one elementary school, Columbia Elementary, which serves students from the local community. Despite the school's diverse student population, it has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Washington elementary schools and struggles with low academic performance in English Language Arts and Math, particularly when compared to state averages.
Columbia Elementary's ELA and Math proficiency rates are significantly lower than the state average, ranging from 24% to 34.62% in ELA and 18% to 48.08% in Math, compared to the state's 48.89% to 53.6% in ELA and 42.96% to 52.5% in Math. While the school's 5th-grade science proficiency rate is higher than the state average, the overall science proficiency rate is still lower than the state's. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students (56.57%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a relatively high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.
Despite the school's challenges, it has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 13.7, which is lower than the state average. However, the school's high spending per student of $16,042 raises questions about the efficient allocation and utilization of resources within the school and district, as the low academic performance suggests that the resources may not be directed towards the most effective strategies and interventions to support student learning.
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