Washington state is falling behind in education. That’s according to a report from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which measured child well-being across the country.
The report looks at how factors like education, healthcare, economic well-being and community impact youth.Washington ranked 17th overall. But Soleil Boyd, the executive director of the state youth advocacy organization Children’s Alliance, said that’s a reflection of the extent of problems facing children.
“ When we look at our state, you might think, ‘Oh, we're not so bad. We're above average on a lot of measures.’ But I just think that lets us know that the problems that we have are not unique to us,” Boyd said.
Washington’s worst ranking came in education. The state ranked 31st nationwide. In 2024, 68% of the state’s fourth graders were not proficient in reading, and 70% of eighth graders were not proficient in math.
Chris Reykdahl, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, said this follows global trends, and said a myriad of stressors can impact student outcomes. The pandemic worsened education outcomes nationwide and states are slowly recovering.
According to the report, 57% of kids between the ages of 3and 4 were not enrolled in school from 2020 to 2024.
Boyd is worried things are going to get worse.
This year, the state Legislature made cuts to education, including a $27 million reduction from its Transition to Kindergarten program. That program is for 4-year-olds who need more support before beginning kindergarten.
“Rather than investing, stabilizing, or even expanding these systems, our state is pulling back really on its promise,” Boyd said.
With the cuts, Reykdahl said there will be an immediate reduction in access.
“School districts don't have the money to backfill that. So fewer slots will be offered for kids in that particular program,” Reykdahl said.
The cuts equate to the loss of 2,000 spots for kids in the program statewide.
“ It's been very frustrating, because (Transition to Kindergarten has) got the best results,” Reykdahl said.
In 2025, kindergarteners who were participants of the program outperformed their peers who didn’t participate in Transition to Kindergarten, according to a report from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The report also said that kindergarten readiness is a predictor of future academic success.
Other stressors on kids further erode their success in school, including access to health insurance and housing, Reykdahl said.
On those measures, Washington also saw declines. In 2024, 4% of kids in the state didn’t have health insurance, up from 3% in 2019.
“ That's a change of about a little over 10,000 kids losing access to that coverage,” Boyd said. “ We're really concerned … Maybe this was a blip, but it is unlikely to reverse unless we take very real and serious action to maintain that healthcare coverage for kids in our state.”
Plus, that doesn’t account for the rollout of H.R.1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Boyd said will also make it harder for children to access healthcare.
Having this data shows Boyd where the state needs to focus its efforts. The Children’s Alliance has a lobbying arm and supported the Millionaire's Tax, which would set up a dedicated fund of that revenue to early childhood care and education.
“Everybody benefits when all of our children have a high-quality education,” Boyd said. “Everybody benefits when parents can go to work and children are in safe, nurturing care.”
