Restoring faith in public education

How much worse do schools have to get before parents and public officials take a stand? It’s the question many are asking following the release of Washington state’s latest round of poor K-12 public school test scores.

The testing – called the Smarter Balanced Assessment – was completed last fall. The findings are heartbreaking.

The number of students failing state standards in math is now 70 percent. Across ethnic categories, the learning declines were significant.

The number of students failing state standards in English is also now 53 percent.

In a state that spends more than $16,800 per st...