The Roundtable works to effect positive change on public policy issues that are most important to supporting state economic vitality and fostering opportunity for all Washingtonians. That work includes sharing news and analyzing policy developments affecting our state.

Latest News

ReadyWA “Real Learning for Real Life” campaign launches

June 20th, 2013

Check out the “Real Learning for Real Life” campaign that launched today. It’s aim is to help parents and the public better understand the Common Core State Standards. These K-12 learning standards in math and English language arts will be fully implemented in Washington public schools at every grade level during the next school year.  They are key to ensuring every child has access… Read more

Nearly a quarter of nation’s kids still not graduating

June 6th, 2013

Ripped from the headlines of Education Week: Nation’s Graduation Rate Nears a Milestone “At the beginning of the last decade, before concerns about the nation’s graduation rate ascended to prominence on the policy agenda, only about two-thirds of U.S. public school students were finishing high school with a regular diploma. A new analysis from the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center finds that… Read more

Crosscut: What politicians can do to help business climate

June 3rd, 2013

Less than two weeks remain in the special legislative session and it’s time for lawmakers to finish the state’s business.  A recent update of the Washington Roundtable’s Benchmarks for a Better Washington – an annual report measuring our state’s economic vitality – underscores the need for action on education and transportation policy.   Two key takeaways: Washington ranks among the bottom half of all… Read more

Benefits paid – the best measure of workers’ comp costs

May 20th, 2013

The Washington Research Council has an insightful rundown on its blog, detailing the rationale for using workers’ compensation benefits paid to compare costs between states. We use  benefits paid for our Benchmarks for a Better Washington because it’s the most reliable, stable state-by-state metric for measuring a key business cost that impacts employer decisions about where to keep and create jobs.  The conclusion of that data is concerning… Read more

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