Vashon Island High School has again received a Washington Achievement Award and has been recognized as one of the top 5 percent of schools in the state for 2014.

The school received the award, which is given by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the State Board of Education, last year as well.

The award is based on state test scores, and schools that earned awards were recognized for high performance in one or more of six categories. VHS was again awarded for Overall Excellence, an award reserved for the top 5 percent of schools in the state that have overall high test scores as well as a narrow gap between the scores of low-income students and non-low-income students. VHS was also recognized for High Progress, meaning low-income students’ test scores showed improvement over a three-year period. Students considered low-income are those enrolled in the state’s free and reduced lunch program.

New this year, VHS was also recognized for having a high graduation rate. That category takes into account students who take five or six years to get their diploma.

“When we are able to help the fifth- and  sixth-year seniors get over the finish line, it really puts us there,” said VHS Principal Danny Rock.

Rock said he and other school staff were pleased to get the award a second time.

VHS was one of about 400 elementary, middle and high schools statewide to earn Washington Achievement Awards this year. The award was first handed out in 2008, when OSPI and the State Board of Education created the Washington Achievement Index, a school rating system that gives more weight to the performance of low-income students.

“We appreciate the award, but it’s not the  goal,” said Rock, who called the recognition a “whole-staff effort.” This is Rock’s second year at the high school.

“It’s the first year where it reflects time I shared with the community,” he said, “so that is encouraging to be able to tell the team that we did it together.”

Rock added that while the school clearly has many high-achieving students, it could do more to meet the needs of high schoolers who struggle in a traditional classroom setting.

He and other staff are currently working to develop new alternative programs at VHS.