While national and state mean scores for college-bound seniors dipped in 2007, Lake Washington School District (LWSD) seniors scored higher on all three tests on the SAT college prep test. The percent of students in the district taking the test dropped slightly, from 72 percent to 71 percent. District students continue to score well above state and national averages.

The largest increase came in math scores. LWSD college-bound seniors averaged 570 in Math, up seven points from 563 in 2007. The mean for all college-bound seniors who took the test is 515, the same as in 2007, and Washington state students scored 533 on average, up two points.

Scores for Lake Washington seniors rose three points on average in critical reading. They averaged 555 in 2008, up from 552 in 2007. That compares to 526 for all students statewide and 502 for all students who took the SAT. Both the state and national averages were the same in 2007 and 2008.

Writing scores also increased for LWSD college-bound seniors, from 542 in 2007 to 545 in 2008. State scores averaged 509, down from 510, and scores for all students who took the SAT averaged 494, the same as in 2007.

“I’m very pleased to see our high school students perform so well on the SAT ,” noted Supt. Chip Kimball. “These upward trends reflect a lot of work on the part of our teachers and our students. In this year’s SAT scores, our emphasis on math appears to be paying off.”

Lake Washington School District is the sixth largest district in the state. It has more than 23,000 students in 50 schools located in Kirkland, Redmond, and Sammamish, Washington.