Wahluke High School

Wahluke High School, in Eastern Washington’s Grant County, posted 2005 WASL scores that doubled what 10th-graders earned last year. Last year, 32 percent of 10th-graders passed the reading WASL; this year, 65 percent passed. In math, 29 percent passed this year, compared with 14.9 percent last year. Writing scores went from 26 percent to 52 percent.

School principal Dale Hedman attributed the success to a year-round effort, including an after-school WASL prep class. While there is still work to do, the marked improvement is evidence that the hard work of students and teachers is paying off in Wahluke, where 40 percent of students speak English as a second language.