Justin Johnson, principal at Wajitas Elementary, told the Othello School District board that a demographic-adjusted analysis of statewide test data shows four elementary schools in the district outperformed expectations.

Johnson described using a trend-line model built from Washington state data that predicts an expected academic score for a school based on its percentage of English-language learners (ELL) and low-income students. He said the analysis produces an "expected" score and an "actual" score; the difference (residual) identifies schools outperforming or underperforming demographic expectations. "Without data, you're just another person with an opinion," Johnson said, summarizing the rationale for the method.

According to the presentation, all four elementary schools analyzed had positive residuals (their actual performance exceeded the model's expected values). Johnson also said four Othello elementaries ranked among the top six elementary schools in the district's regional peer group of 51 schools in Grant, Adams and Franklin counties. The presentation cited a state academic-performance reference point near 47.7 and described a recent local increase in second-grade reading fluency to about 57% (reported "as of October") for the recognized second-grade team.

Superintendent Perez framed the analysis as a tool for public communications tied to levy and bond outreach, saying the district needs to show return on investment when seeking voter support. Board members praised the work and asked for access to the spreadsheets and methods; Johnson offered to explain the formulas and the computations in follow-up conversations. He cautioned that the model is one lens, not a replacement for absolute performance measures: actual counts of students at standard remain important.

Next steps noted by the presenters included making the data and methodology available to principals and staff, providing talking points for the board, and potentially expanding the analysis to include middle-school metrics. The presentation concluded with an invitation for board members and staff to ask for deeper technical explanation of the formulas used.