Seattle Public Schools | District Profile Dec. 2003

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The 2003 Data Profile contains a wealth of information about the Seattle Public Schools and the performance of our students. Here are some highlights from 2002:

Demographics

The District's enrollment, based on the October 1, 2003 count, is 46,730, down 235 students from last year. White students comprise 40.9 percent of the student population and minorities 59.1 percent. The majority of our students, or 60.2 percent, live with both parents. Based on the income level of their parents, 39.2 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. More than 10,000 students, or 21.6 percent of the total enrollment, have non-English speaking backgrounds. Of these, 6,010, or 13 percent of total enrollment, were receiving bilingual services in June 2003. 13.4 percent of all students received special education services in June 2003.

Student Performance

In general, Seattle Public Schools' students continue to make gains on a variety of assessments that measure academic achievement in Reading, Mathematics, and Language Arts.

Average scores for elementary and middle school students on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and for high school students on the Iowa Test of Educational Development (ITED) are above the national average in Reading, Language and Mathematics.
Performance on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), a challenging performance assessment mandated by the State Legislature for all students in grades 4, 7 and 10, continues to climb. In 2003, fourth grade scores improved in Mathematics and Listening when compared to 2002, seventh grade scores improved all four subject areas (Reading, Mathematics, Writing and Listening), and tenth grade showed gains in Reading and Writing. The percentage of both fourth and seventh graders meeting standards in writing has increased every year since 1999.
District SAT scores for high school students are above both Washington State and national averages in both Verbal and Math sections of the test in 2003. Seattle's 2003 Math and Verbal SAT scores are 21 and 24 points, respectively, above the national average. Since 1995, SAT math scores have increased 28 points and verbal scores have increased 27 points.

Attendance and Discipline

Average daily attendance for all students was 92.0 percent in 2002-2003, the highest in eight years.
The number and rate of short-term suspensions rose in 2002-2003 from 2001-2002 levels at high schools and middle schools, but fell at the elementary school level to the lowest level since1995-1996.
Long-term suspension rates remained steady at high schools and rose at middle schools in 2002-2003. The rate of long-term suspensions at high schools are still the lowest in 16 years.
The high school expulsion rate in 2002-2003 is the lowest in eighteen years, while the middle school expulsion rate in 2002-2003 is the lowest since 1989-1990 (13 years).
The percentage of students at high schools and middle schools considered truant in 2002-2003 fell to the lowest rate since the statewide truancy law was enacted in 1995-1996.

Student Educational Status

Annual dropout rates for high school fell from 12.4 percent in 2001-2002 to 10.3 percent in 2002-2003, the lowest dropout rate since these numbers have been reported starting in 1982-1983. The middle school annual dropout rate also fell to its lowest reported rate since 1982-1983 from 7.2 percent in 2001-2002 to 5.5 percent in 2002-2003.