what’s working
When Average Isn’t Good Enough
Washington state scores squarely in
the middle of the road in new report.
Jason Hagey
Opportunity Washington, created last year with the goal of making Washington a top 10 state,
released its first data-driven report card on the state’s performance. The results show there is a
lot of room for improvement.
We’re OK. Not great, not terrible, just OK.
Washington scored best in education with an overall
That’s the top-line conclusion from a new report released
score of 82, ranking 18th in the country. That’s due to strong
this fall by Opportunity Washington, the coalition of
fourth-grade reading scores, strong eighth-grade math
business groups formed last year with the goal of bringing
scores and the relatively high number of associate degrees
broad prosperity to all corners of the state.
awarded.
The data-driven analysis compared Washington to other
The state’s poor high school graduation rate and relatively
states across 16 different measures of success in three
low number of bachelor’s and advanced degrees awarded
categories: Achieve (education), Connect (transportation
prevented the number from being higher.
and infrastructure) and Employ (economic vitality).
The state scored lowest in Connect, which measured
After crunching all of the numbers, Washington emerged
average commute times, road conditions and bridge
with an overall score of 79, slightly above the median score
conditions. Washington ranked 38th in the country with a
of 75 (scores range from 0-150). That ranks 24th in the
score of 48. But that was before lawmakers passed a 16-year,
nation, solidly in the middle
$16 billion transportation
of the pack.
reform and revenue package.
The goal for Opportunity
As the projects financed by
Wa s h i n g t o n i s t o s e e
the package are deployed, that
Washington rank in the top
number should improve.
— AWB President Kris Johnson
10 in the nation in each of
In the third category, Employ,
the three categories.
Washington scores virtually right down the middle of the
“We’ve clearly got some work to do if we want to be a
road with a 78, placing the state 23rd in the nation.
top 10 state,” said AWB President Kris Johnson. “We heard
The category looks at private-sector research and
from business and community leaders from across the state
development as well as overall entrepreneurial activity, two
who told us that Washington must be among the best states
scores where Washington fares relatively well. But it also
in the country for educating our future workforce, getting
includes overall business costs, a place where Washington
goods and services to market and people to work, and
doesn’t perform as well. It ’s clear that Washington
creating a tax and regulatory environment that encourages
employers face significant tax and regulatory expenses that
entrepreneurs and innovators.”
make it a challenge to compete in a global market.
“We’ve clearly got some work to do
if we want to be a top 10 state.”
report card
The Opportunity Score was calculated by comparing
Washington to other states in three categories using 16
variables. Eight of the variables are tied to education; three
are tied to transportation; and five measure economic
vitality.
The Achieve and Employ sections each accounted for
40 percent of the total score, while Connect was given a
weighted average of 20 percent.
20 association of washington business
baseline established
When Opportunity Washington was established, the goal
was to make Washington a top 10 state in the areas that
matter most to people in communities throughout the state:
education, transportation and economic vitality.
“We traveled the state, invested in research and asked
communities directly — what changes are needed to foster
a culture of opportunity and shared prosperity?” said
Steve Mullin, president of the Washington Roundtable.