STEM by the Numbers Dashboard

Kindergarten Math-ready: Across Washington, access to high-quality early learning is linked to development and achievement when young students arrive in K-12 schools. However, in Washington state, only 68% of children in kindergarten are math-ready. At the same time, two-thirds of children with all parents in the workforce do not have access to early learning programs. Families with low incomes and with an infant and/or toddler face the largest gaps in access to affordable and quality child care. The chart below shows the percentage (%) of math-ready kindergartners by gender, race/ethnicity and whether they are English language learners, or in low-income households. For historical comparison (2015-2022), hover mouse over a bar.

FAFSA Completion: Students who complete financial aid applications, such as FAFSA or WAFSA, are more likely to enroll in higher education. Low-income students and students of color report that they prefer to rely on school staff and teachers for information about postsecondary enrollment, such as financial aid. Yet 43% of staff surveyed said they do not have enough basic knowledge of the FAFSA or WASFA. This FAFSA Completion dashboard can help communities and individual high schools set goals to improve their FAFSA completion rates over time. They can also use this data to see if new practices and approaches are closing pervasive equity gaps in financial aid completion.

This tool allows for comparison of an individual high school’s completion rate year-over-year (chart 1), or in comparison with a district, region, and/or the state, by month or year-over-year (chart 2).

The Postsecondary Progress dashboard includes five sub-sections that track key indicators in postsecondary education for the 2021 five-year cohort of Washington-originating high school graduates.

• Credential Attainment: Credential Attainment projects what increase in credential attainment will be needed to ensure that students in the region are equitably prepared to acquire high-demand jobs that pay household-sustaining wages.
• Enrollment Representation rates: Top graph provides snapshots of regional teacher diversity compared to student demographics; bottom graph displays demographics and equity of representation of the students enrolled in postsecondary programs.
• Enrollment and Completion rates: Two pie charts show enrollment and projected completion rates, at the regional and state levels. A second graphic illustrates the data that shows how members of the 2021 cohort detour off the path of postsecondary credentials.
• Enrollment Demographics: This chart breaks down postsecondary enrollment within one year of graduation by gender, ethnicity and income level.
• Enrollment Tables: This table provides enrollment details for graduates, by high school in each region.