POULSBO — The North Kitsap School District board got its first clear look at its students preliminary 2006 WASL data Thursday night. And while a fearful number loomed in the mathematics column as only 56.2 percent of NKHS sophomores met the standard — a requirement for graduation — the directors’ discussion remained optimistic about students and somewhat critical of the test.

The test results — not yet broken into demographics — are still preliminary as some corrections must be submitted to and processed by the state. However, those are not expected to change scores dramatically. Finalized district statistics will be received in mid-September around the time parents and students receive their individual reports.

“We have to look at the positives here at our district and in the state — it is closing the achievement gap,” NKSD assistant director of learning and support and WASL coordinator Dixie Husser told the board, noting that the gap is closing more rapidly in the NKSD in comparison with the state.

“I think you can close the achievement gap without holding an axe over their neck … that’s my problem with it,” board director Dan Delaney said.

In the first year that meeting of WASL standard will be a requirement for graduation for NKHS 10th graders, significant strides were made as students put on their collective game face.

In the reading and writing portions of the test, NK sophomores jumped above the 80th percentile following last year’s performance of 72 percent in reading and 61 percent in writing. Math scores also jumped from 43 percent in 2005 to 53.4 percent in 2006, but that still leaves almost half of the 530 member class in need of a mathematics retake in order to graduate.

That fact prompted the board to question, “Is the WASL doing what we need it to do?”

“When you get 50 percent of students who can’t graduate because they didn’t pass the math portion of the WASL … this isn’t our problem,” Delaney reiterated his fear. “I still see so many of our students not graduating in two years.”

Husser was quick to try to quell that fear as she said she had seen a major difference in improvement in the first year that the test has been made a graduation requirement. And as instruction continues to better equip students with the ability to meet the state mandated grade level expectations, she expects ample progress to be made.

“I think they’ll do just fine; I think our graduation rate will be as high or higher with the WASL requirement,” Husser said. “The kids are better prepared, understanding more what is needed and taking it more seriously.”

Without the weight of graduation hanging on their test booklets, NKSD’s elementary and junior high students showed some areas with room for improvement in their preliminary results.

At the fourth grade level across the district 85.7 percent of students met standard in reading while only 60.5 and 61.7 percent met standard in writing and math, respectively. At the junior high level, relatively low numbers came up across the board in seventh grade scores as 66.4 percent of students met standard in reading, 64.2 percent in writing and 56.6 percent in math.

Science scores across all age levels in the district were ominously low with 48.5 percent of students meeting standard in fourth grade, 46.3 of seventh graders and 35 percent of 10th graders.

“We are not teaching what we need to be teaching for the WASL,” board director Ed Strickland said after review of the science scores. “We’re doing a science adoption this year, so I think we’ll have a chance to look at that.”

NKSD Supt. Gene Medina cautioned the board repeatedly on the night not to jump to conclusions too quickly with only preliminary percentages in front of them. He said data of this nature tends to raise more pertinent questions than making absolute conclusions.

“I’d like the concentration to be not on WASL but on learning,” board president Catherine Ahl summed up her stance at the end of the discussion. “Everyday of teaching is preparation for the WASL.”