Improvement in all WASL scores over time has earned Orcas Island High School the state Learning Improvement Award and recognition as a “School of Distinction.”

Orcas School Superintendent/High School Principal Barbara Kline accounted for the pass rate of 80 percent in sophomore goals on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) tests, saying “ A lot of what we teach is like what they’re asked to do in the test – read, refer back to text, write essays,” said Principal Barbara Kline. “The math is a little more difficult because we don’t have as much applied math. It’s a matter of maturation – the students grow into concepts behind the problems instead of just memorizing formulas.”

In a letter of congratulations sent to Principal Kline, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction wrote, “because of the tremendous gains your students have made in their mathematics and reading skills over the past several years, your school has earned the State Superintendent’ s Learning Improvement Award and will be recognized as a School of Distinction. “

The award celebrates the top five percent of schools that exceed this year’s state average performance on the WASL in reading and mathematics, as well as demonstrating outstanding improvement over time in both of those subjects. Statewide, Orcas is one of 100 schools that received this recognition.

Kline says that this progess reflects more than “teaching to the test.”

“We are teaching the kind of skills students need to be successful in life – reading writing, math and science. The fact that we teach that to a very high level is what makes them successful in WASL.”