Wahluke School District

The Wahluke School District in Washington state serves students from 6 schools, including 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools (one of which is an alternative school). The district faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, stark racial and socioeconomic disparities, and potential resource allocation imbalances.

Wahluke High School, the largest high school in the district, stands out with the highest 4-year graduation rate at 87.5% but also the highest dropout rate at 8.1%. While the school has a very high percentage of Hispanic students (98.24%) and a 96.99% free/reduced lunch rate, its test scores are significantly below the state average. In contrast, Mattawa Elementary has the lowest test scores in the district, with only 13.94% proficient in ELA and 7.27% proficient in Math, and is ranked 1165th out of 1168 elementary schools in Washington.

Across the district, test scores are consistently below state averages, with district-wide proficiency rates of 25.57% in ELA and 17.31% in Math, compared to state averages of 52.63% and 41.68%, respectively. The student population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, ranging from 94.59% to 98.25% across the schools, and all schools have very high free/reduced lunch rates, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage. The district's resource allocation also appears unbalanced, with the alternative school and high school receiving less funding per student compared to the elementary and middle schools.