Final results for last year’s 10th-graders show very high proficiency.

Bainbridge High School 10th-graders scored 98 percent proficiency in reading, 86 percent in math, 97 percent in writing and 74 percent in science, on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, school officials said Friday.

Test scores by last year’s sophomores have been anticipated across the state, as the class of 2008 will be the first group of students who must achieve proficiency in order to graduate.

“We’re extremely pleased with our students’ performance overall,” said Bainbridge School District Deputy Superintendent Faith Chapel, who is in charge of curriculum and instruction throughout the district.

Preliminary WASL results were released in June, but Friday marked the first opportunity for the school district to compare its results with those of districts statewide. The results were released by the Washington State Office of Public Instruction.

Statewide proficiency was 82 percent in reading, 51 percent in math, 78 percent in writing and 35 percent in science.

Chapel said Bainbridge’s 10th-grade scores compared well with other traditionally strong districts, including Mercer Island, which finished slightly below Bainbridge Island in every category except science.

Fourth-grade WASL results improved across the board from last year, from 93 to 95 percent in reading, 82 to 86 percent in math and 82 to 83 percent in writing.

Seventh-graders scored 85 percent in reading, 84 percent in math and 87 percent in writing. Those scores are on par with last year’s, with the exception of a 6 percent decline in reading scores. Seventh grade reading scores inexplicably dipped by 7.5 percent statewide.

“Seventh-grade reading is an anomaly across the state this year,” Chapel said. “It’s definitely something we’re going to take a close look at.”

The Washington Assessment of Student Learning test measures student skills and knowledge and has been administered to Washington state students in grades four, seven and 10 for the past decade. This year was the first in which the test was administered to students in grades three, five, six and eight.

Statewide scores show gains in reading and writing, while problems with math persist.

Students are allowed to retake portions of the test to pass the requirement.