Last spring students, parents, teachers and administrators were sweating out another battery of Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests. This week, the state found that, for the most part, the hard work poured into preparations and teaching and learning adjustments paid off.

It’s not just in the area of the WASLs that the region’s students and educators can feel proud. Idaho and Washington once again posted higher than average scores for the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

One of the traditional hurdles to school performance is the income level of a district’s residents, but Spokane schools once again outpaced the state WASL averages, even though an inordinate number of its students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Education reform is a daily grind and incremental annual gains may seem unsatisfying, but a quick glance back to the beginning unearths substantial progress. For instance, Washington fourth-graders were first given the WASL in 1997, and the statewide scores recorded that year were dramatically lower than now. In reading, 47.9 percent passed the 1997 test; this year, 74.4 percent passed. In math, scores have risen from 21.4 percent to 59.9 percent, and in writing, 42.8 percent to 55.8 percent.

Educators have every right to celebrate, but one caveat should be noted in explaining the unusually large jump in scores this year. The state slightly lowered the bench mark needed to pass the fourth-and seventh-grade tests, which skews comparisons to last year.

The change itself was justified, because the WASL is one of the toughest statewide assessments in the country, and schools must show annual yearly progress to meet federal guidelines mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Reality has been a catalyst for other changes. For the class of 2008, the 10th-grade test will become a graduation requirement. The state clearly saw that it had to make adjustments, otherwise it would be saddled with large numbers of students without diplomas.

The Legislature stepped up last session by giving high school students four shots at passing the 10th-grade test. Lawmakers also allowed for an alternative assessment — still being devised — for students who struggle with test anxieties. And more flexibility is now in place for assessing special education students and those with language challenges.

That’s a lot of changes, and we expect more will be implemented as schools try to make annual progress up to the federal deadline of 2014. But the alterations are fine as long as the state adheres to the original goal, established in 1993, to turn out educated, competent citizens capable of thriving in today’s fast-changing, competitive world.

On Tuesday, another school year begins for most kids in the region. Educators are already poring over this year’s WASL results, with the goal of tweaking curriculums and adjust teaching methods. By the time tests are administered in the spring, we’re confident that students will be ready to move to the next level of achievement.