Lake Washington School District (LWSD) students improved their results on state standardized tests as compared to 2011 in almost every subgroup in reading and in math, but district results compared to Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) were mixed in 2012-13.

Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), districts and schools in the state of Washington are measured against AMOs. These unique yearly targets in reading and mathematics are designed to reduce proficiency gaps by half by 2017 for all students and each student subgroup in that district or school. The AMOs for each school and district are determined based on the entity’s own performance in 2011 and the difference between that performance and 100 percent at standard.

Statewide, most groups did not reach their AMO targets for 2012-13 in reading or in math. For LWSD, many groups did successfully reach their specific target for 2012-13 in math as a result of higher scores. Most did not make the district-specific target in reading despite scoring gains.

“While our results in reading continue to improve and are higher than most districts in the state, we are looking for even more improvement,” said Superintendent Dr. Traci Pierce. “We introduced a new elementary literacy curriculum this fall aligned to Common Core State Standards and teachers are working hard to implement the curriculum.”

She added, “Our efforts in math are paying off. We are seeing solid gains and scores that continue to be well above state averages.”

Under the AMO system, LWSD is being measured on improvement in results by its own students in 2011, not against a statewide measure. For example, the statewide target for all students in math for 2013 was 66.8 percent of students at standard, an increase from the 60.2 percent at standard in 2011. For the district, the AMO target for all students in math in 2013 was 80.9 percent, up from 77.1 percent in 2011. Individual schools within the district are also measured against their own past results.

The 2013 test scores for LWSD showed improvements in almost every subgroup in both reading and math compared to the 2011 results. In math, 82.6 percent of all students reached standard this year, which was over the 80.9 percent target.

In almost all subgroups in reading, however, the increase was not enough to reach this year’s district-specific target. For example, for the “all students” group, 85.7 percent reached standard in reading in 2011. The target for 2013 was 88.1 percent and the actual results for this year were 87.2 percent at standard.

So while there was an increase, it did not quite rise to the level expected in the AMO system.

Complete results for LWSD and its 51 schools along with all other Washington school districts and schools are available at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction website.