Lake Washington School District (LWSD) seniors scored higher overall on the SAT last spring than in previous years.

District students continue to score well above state and national averages. District scores by subject increased in the reading and writing tests while dropping one point on mathematics. At the same time, Washington state and national scores gained one point on average in math and remained the same in reading. State scores gained an average of one point in writing while national averages fell one point.

Over the last five years, average SAT scores in Washington and nationally have fallen or remained the same. At the same time, LWSD’s average scores have increased by 11 in math, 13 in critical reading and 14 in writing on average.

“We are seeing steady, sustained improvement in SAT scores,” LWSD superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball said. “Hard work by our teachers and students led to the continuous improvement we are after.”

This year, the largest increase came in writing scores. LWSD college-bound seniors averaged 555 in writing, up four points from 551 in 2009. The mean for all college-bound seniors who took the test is 492, down one point from 2009. Washington state students scored 508 on average, up one point. LWSD students have improved their mean score every year in the five years since the writing test began.

Mean math scores decreased by one point for LWSD college-bound seniors, from 574 in 2009 to 573 in 2010 after a four-point jump from 2008 to 2009. State scores averaged 532, up from 531, and scores for all students who took the SAT averaged 516, up one point from 2009.

Scores for LWSD seniors rose one point on average in critical reading. They averaged 560 in 2010, up from 559 in 2009. That score compares to 524 for all students statewide and 501 for all students who took the SAT. Washington and national scores were the same as the previous year.

The number of district students taking the test did fall slightly this year, from 1174 in 2008 to 1123 in 2009.