Skip To Main Content

Search Panel

Schools Menu

Annual School Report

Mentor with students displaying boat build

Welcome: 

Real World. Real Learning. Real Life. Gibson Ek is a small choice high school, based on the Big Picture model, where design thinking and “learning through interest” are central tenets. Students commit to a personal vision through authentic new learning that empowers them to contribute their knowledge and skills to meaningfully influence the school and community. Through a combination of coursework, self-directed projects, and real-world internships, students develop mastery of 20 different competencies aligned with state, national and collegiate standards. Each student spends more than 600 hours interning with regional companies and organizations to explore career interests. Additionally, all students complete a two-year research project that culminates in their senior year, in which they identify a real-world need and then design and implement a response.

Mission: 

Gibson Ek students thrive by engaging in rigorous interest-based learning and real-world experiences in a vibrant and supportive community.

Principal 2022-23 School Year:

Julia Bamba

Image shows the building of Gibson Ek High School

2022-23 School Year

To review the Issaquah School District 2021-2022 budget details and more, please visit the annual district report. The Issaquah School District believes in seeking continual feedback from a broad and diverse range of constituents regarding their experiences with the District and their neighborhood schools. See the Reports and Surveys Website for more information and survey results.

Data from the Office of the Superintendent of Instruction (OSPI)

State testing is required by Washington State (RCW 28A.230.095) and federal law. The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted in 1965, is the nation’s national education law and shows a longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. On December 10, 2015 President Obama reauthorized ESEA as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). These state and federal laws result in elementary students being regularly tested by the State to assess their progress as they move through school. State tests at the elementary level which fulfill the federal Every Student Succeeds Act include the following:    

  • Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA):
    • English Language Arts (ELA) (10)
    • Math (10)
  • Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS):
    • Science test (11)

Demographic Data

  • Grades: 9-12
  • Enrollment: 182
 

Teacher Experience Data

 
 
 
 

State Testing

Two tests given to high school students—The Smarter Balanced Assessment and the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science help indicate how well Issaquah students are learning.

Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA)

The SBA consists of two parts: a computer adaptive test and a performance task. Writing is included at every grade level and students are asked to solve multi-step, real-world problems in math. Performance tasks ask students to determine an array of research, writing, and problem solving skills. The SBA results describe student achievement (how much students know at the end of the year).

The Grade Level Total ELA and Grade Level Total Math charts on the right-hand side of the page indicate the percent of tenth grade students who met or exceeded standard in ELA and Math on the SBA compared to the percent of tenth grade students who met or exceeded standard district-wide.

SBA English Language Arts (ELA) scores

SBA Math scores

 

Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS)

The WCAS fulfills the federal requirement that students be tested in Science once at the elementary level. The WCAS measures the level of proficiency students have achieved (what students know and can do) based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The WCAS assesses all three dimensions of the learning standards (Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts).

The numbers on the chart represent the percentage of students in eleventh grade who met or exceeded standard on the WCAS compared to the percentage of students in grade 11 who met or exceeded standard districtwide. Given that a limited number of students took the WCAS, scores may not provide a full picture of science achievement.