Last year’s statewide test left the Renton School District, along with all of Washington, with a mix of results that only fared well for middle schoolers.

While Renton’s lackluster scores ranked many of its schools behind the state average, the scores are seen as valuable information that can help teachers improve the classroom.

“We’re not willing to make excuses,” said spokesperson Randy Matheson. “We’re trying to figure out what the test data is telling us and improve.”

The district launched a new data warehouse this year that will allow teachers to access complete student histories, including state assessment scores, classroom grades and even behavior reports.

Since coming into office a few years ago, collecting data has been a priority of Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel.

Good data can help teachers customize their lesson plans to meet individual student needs, Matheson said.

Analyzing the state assessment data is trickier this year, because the state assessment changed last spring. The Washington Assessment of Student Learning was shortened and split into two, the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) and Measurement of Student Progress (MSP), grades 3-8.

But state and district administrators say the new test was a success, and the scores are comparable.

The tests are analyzed by percentage of students who passed.

While the state average showed middle school scores trending up by a few points, Renton students made significant progress.

Although still behind the state average in several areas, in others Renton middle schoolers caught up to and in some cases surpassed the state average.

The district attributed the success to an after-school program that gives more classroom time to students in danger of failing.

Teachers made students more comfortable with

the MSP, by preparing them with tests written in a similar style.

The federal government is also forcing changes at the three middle schools, after they missed Adequate Yearly Progress for at least six years.

The district will spend at least $661,000 to make the federally mandated changes, which include money for low-income families to receive private tutoring, a choice to leave the school and professional development for staff, Matheson said.

Losing ground

Elementary and high school students both saw losses this year, especially in the fifth- and 10th-grade.

State Superintendent Randy Dorn pointed to the new tests and continued state budget cuts as the major causes for mixed and dropping scores.

“Washington needs to recommit to education, and it’s not just me saying that, it’s the courts,” he said, in a press release. “We are facing a serious budget crisis in this state, but if we continue to cut education, the progress we’ve previously made will disappear.”

The state released the 2009-2010 assessment scores Aug. 30.

Renton fifth-graders saw a dip in scores from a 69.6 percent pass rate in reading to 65.3 percent, a 4.3 percent loss. Math had a 6.3 percent loss this year.

Fourth-graders also saw significant losses in reading, dropping 8.4 percentage points.

The most vexing point for districts are the 10th-grade HSPE scores.

Starting with the incoming sophomores this year, class of 2013, all students will have to pass the math and science portions of the HSPE to graduate.

Last school year, only 34 percent of Renton students passed the math HSPE and 38.9 percent passed the science portion.

In years passed if students failed, they could take extra classes to make up the test, but that’s scheduled to end this year.

Dorn appealed to lawmakers last November to extend the graduation requirements by a few years, but they haven’t responded.

The Renton sophomores also saw a 7.4 percent loss in reading and a 7.6 loss in writing, pulling the district away from the state averages it enjoyed last year.