This Is The Top Ranking School District In Washington

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. - Seattle:

Few aspects play a more important role in a child’s development than their educational experience. But among the nearly 50 million American public school students in grades K-12, the quality of that experience varies considerably.

Key measures – ranging from annual budgets to graduation rates, and everything in between – show that there is no shortage of struggling school districts in the United States. Many public school districts across the country are understaffed, underfunded, and underperforming. (Here is a look at the best private high schools in America.)

Still, there are also school districts that are notable for the opposite reasons. These districts offer students updated facilities, a range of extracurricular activity options, a dedicated teaching staff, and they have a track record of high graduation rates.

According to data compiled by Niche, an education research platform, Mercer Island School District in Mercer Island, Washington, ranks as the best school district in the state. Niche based its ranking on a weighted index of several measures, including self-reported standardized test scores, parent and student surveys, extracurricular activities, and indicators of teacher quality.

The district enrolls a total of 4,192 students, and has a student-teacher ratio of 18:1. The district has an average graduation rate of 93% and standardized state test results show that about 87% of students are proficient in reading and 83% are proficient in math.

All data in this story came from Niche. A full description of each measure used to calculate this ranking is available here.

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This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.