Once again, Valley students have outperformed the state averages in writing, math, reading and science on the annual Washington Assessment of Student Learning.
There continues to be an upward trend in students meeting or beating standards in those subjects in fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth grades.
There is a 14 percent increase in the number of fifth and eighth grade students meeting or beating the science standard over the past two years.
Mount Si High School ranks in the top 10 percent of high schools in the state in writing, in the top 14 percent in math, and the top 18 percent in reading.
Chief Kanim Middle School and Snoqualmie Middle School are in the top 5 percent of schools in writing.
The district is ranked 11th out of 212 schools on combined math and reading scores, according to www.schooldigger.com.
In fourth grade, nearly 85 percent of students passed reading, 70 percent passed math and 78 percent passed writing.
At seventh grade, nearly 74 percent of students passed reading, 64 percent passed math and nearly 90 percent passed writing.
At 10th grade, 88 percent of students passed reading, 58 percent passed math and 96 percent passed writing standards. About 48 percent of sophomores met science standards.
Fourth grade scores were stable in math, and trended up in writing and reading compared to last year.
Seventh grade scores trended down slightly in reading and math, and rose in writing.
Sophomore scores dipped slightly in reading and math, and trended up slightly in writing. Tenth grade science scored trended down compared with 2008.
This was the last year that students will take the WASL. Next year, the test transforms into the Measurements of Student Progress for grades three through eight, and rhe High School Proficiency Exam for grades nine to 12.
While the name is changing, the test’s learning targets are not expected to change greatly.
“The new assessment will be somewhat WASL-like,” said Don McConkey, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning in the Snoqualmie Valley district.
Changes include a shorter test period, a planned online portion, and removed writing sections in the math exam.
“The assessment is trying to meausure what kids know and can do,” McConkey said. “If they’re doing math and being scored on what they write, are you getting a good snapshot of what they know math-wise. They’re trying to improve that.”
As with the WASL, high school students will have to pass the HSPE to graduate.
To ensure students get over the bar, the district is working to instill common language and consistent practices across grades, and is exploring ways to promote strong reading and study skills at higher grades.
“We’re committed to making sure all kids meet standards by 2014,” McConkey said. “All means all.”
He pointed to this year’s 96 percent score in sophomore writing results as a sign of confidence.
“There’s evidence to suggest that’s doable,” McConkey said.
