At Chief Sealth High School students have returned with a new sense of pride after learning that the previous sophomore class showed the most growth, statewide, in all subjects on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

Tenth graders tested at Chief Sealth High School scored 11 percent higher in reading and 16 percent higher in writing than the previous year. The students also showed a 13 percent increase in math scores and a 20 percent increase in science.

"I was so excited," said John Boyd, principal of Chief Sealth High School. "It's a huge moral boost for both our staff and students."

Boyd said his staff focused on making sure students were well prepared for the WASL by taking practice tests, sending notifications to parents and emphasizing the importance attendance on testing days.

Lori Douglas, the school's dean of students, added that their language arts and math departments worked diligently together to better prepare students for the test. The social studies department also strongly emphasized reading and writing.

"I think the staff is becoming much more savvy of what's on the WASL and what's expected of students," Douglas said.

Students at Chief Sealth are also being challenged through the school's rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum. The program offers students the opportunity to take advanced courses and even start college at the sophomore level.

While most large, urban school districts score below their state averages, Seattle Public Schools performed above the Washington State average in most grade levels and subjects. According to the school district, 87.2 percent of Seattle students in the Class of 2009 passed both the reading and writing sections of the WASL, state requirements for high school graduation, compared to 86 percent statewide.

West Seattle High School showed slight improvements in their WASL scores among 10th graders this year. The school showed virtually no change in their reading scores and had 1 percent fewer students who passed the writing test. There was, however, a 4 percent increase in math scores and 2 percent increase in science.

Also, for the first time ever, 80 percent of Lafayette Elementary School fourth grade students exceeded the standards for the WASL math test.

Despite Chief Sealth's improvement over the past year, the school still appeared on the State's "Needs improvement" list, released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction on August 28.

Schools are added to the "needs improvement" list if they do not achieve the "Adequate Yearly Progress" of improvement for two years in a row in the same subject.

Chief Sealth was added to the list because of two sectors of their student's performance that did not meet the Adequate Yearly Progress: math scores for the school's Hispanic population and participation in the reading test among limited English language speakers.

"For students whose second language is English this test is very scary," Douglas said. "It's not uncommon for some students to feel like they can't pass, so they don't bother coming."

Douglas added that Chief Sealth has one of the highest populations of limited English speaking students.

Upon releasing the "needs improvement" list, Terry Bergeson, Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, emphasized that many of the schools listed as needing improvement have made significant advancements, and that the No Child Left Behind Act does not recognize these.

Elementary, middle and high school students were also required to achieve much higher scores in reading and math this year than in the past.

Boyd plans to focus on Chief Sealth's growth and celebrate the student's success.

Rose Egge can be reached at 932-0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com.