Renton School District students have experienced new gains on state test scores, thanks to the support of the district and the community, said the superintendent.

The district has seen improvement on 16 of the 19 state tests given annually to students in grades three through 10. They’ve also seen improvements in mathematics scores in every grade level, with nearly 70 percent of elementary schools seeing gains between 20 and 40 percent.

“They’re phenomenal gains; we’ve had steady gains over the last several years,” said Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel. “This is not an anomaly. It’s very exciting.”

These results are a true reflection of a team effort, Heuschel said, giving credit to new math materials, outside consultants, grants, district staff and community support.

It’s taken a number of years starting six years ago with focused data, she said.

The district eliminated the excuses, faced hard facts and buckled down on what works, Heuschel said.

The biggest gap closed was between what they know from all their research and what the district was doing in practice, she said.

The district set out with the goal of decreasing the number of students who failed to meet state standards by 10 percent. They met that goal with substantial increases in the number of students meeting standards in elementary mathematics, elementary and middle school science, and high school writing.

There were targeted efforts to decrease the achievement gap between low-income and non-low income students, and the achievement gap between white and Asian students with Black and Hispanic students.

The district reported that low-income students met the established 10 percent goal with increases in elementary mathematics, writing and science; middle school writing and science; and high school reading and writing. They also reported that Black and Hispanic students met the goal in elementary mathematics, science and writing; middle school science; and high school writing.

Just because they’ve met some goals and experienced success, it doesn’t mean they are sitting back, they will continually improve, Heuschel said.

The district will continue to use the 10 percent reduction formula for the number of students not meeting their goals. However, there are goals for 2014 that have already been met and the school board has to set a new number based on their success.

They continue to work toward pre-kindergarten through 12th grade achievement as well as equity and access for all students.

They still have some high needs schools like Lakeridge Elementary, which receives federal support and additional plans, Heuschel said.

They have already met the federal goals for Lakeridge, where there is a high turnover rate and many languages are spoken there.

Lakeridge receives additional financial and research support, according to Heuschel.

“It’s a great feeling to know we’re on the right track, but there’s still tremendous needs in the district,” Heuschel said.

The district has also put into place some efforts to help educators as well.

In 2008, the district and the teachers’ union created “delayed start Fridays,” where teachers work together collaboratively for 1 1/2 hours at the start of most Fridays. Between 2009 and 2010, based on Renton’s newly developed “Vision of Instruction” an instructional framework with meaningful initiatives to improve teaching and learning took shape.

TEST SCORES

Significant improvements resulted in double-digit  gains for many schools; examples of 20 percentage point gains or more include:

BRYN MAWR, 4th grade writing, 20%

CAMPBELL HILL, 4th grade reading, 20%; 4th grade math, 20%

HAZELWOOD, 4th grade math, 40%; 5th grade science, 43%

HIGHLANDS, 5th grade math, 20%

KENNYDALE, 4th grade reading, 20%; 4th grade math, 44%

LAKERIDGE, 4th grade reading, 36%; 4th grade math, 20%;  4th grade writing     27%

MAPLEWOOD, 4th grade math, 22%; 5th grade math, 20%; 5th grade science     43%

RENTON PARK, 4th grade math, 24%

TIFFANY PARK, 4th grade math, 20%; 5th grade math, 26%