Academics
Washington operates on an 8:10 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. schedule, of which broken up into seven class periods, the fourth or fifth period assigned for freshmen and sophomores as a study hall/lunch break, and an off-campus lunch hour designated for qualifying juniors and seniors, pending parental approval, an 85% average on semester tests and adequate standardized test scores. In 2009, Washington began offering "zero" and eighth hour classes, from a limited pool of courses.
In the 2007–2008 school year, Washington, along with other district schools, achieved a mean composite of 22.6 on the ACT examination, 1.5 points higher than the national average of 21.1. With 16 Advanced Placement courses offered at Washington, 38.2% of the student body enrolled in at least one, with each participant taking an average of 2.8 classes. Of those participating, 528 students took part in the examinations held in May, with approximately 58.9% receiving "passing" credit. The school also offers accelerated courses for students to participate in, with disciplines such as mathematics and English available.
The 2009 graduating class met adequate yearly progress status on the 2008 Dakota STEP examination, a state-wide standardized test complying with NCLB requirements, indicating that all student demographics achieved a minimum level of proficiency, marking improvement from previous years and the only class in the district to do so. 44.3% of students from the same class also scored 4.0 (above average) or higher on the district-issued writing assessment.
Read more about this topic: Washington High School (Sioux Falls)
Famous quotes containing the word academics:
“Almost all scholarly research carries practical and political implications. Better that we should spell these out ourselves than leave that task to people with a vested interest in stressing only some of the implications and falsifying others. The idea that academics should remain “above the fray” only gives ideologues license to misuse our work.”
—Stephanie Coontz (b. 1944)
“Our first line of defense in raising children with values is modeling good behavior ourselves. This is critical. How will our kids learn tolerance for others if our hearts are filled with hate? Learn compassion if we are indifferent? Perceive academics as important if soccer practice is a higher priority than homework?”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)