When Woodland Hills Academy was proposed in 2008, questions surrounding an extended school year and the allocation of extra resources for academy students threatened to keep the idea from coming to fruition.

But with the academy registering the highest test scores in the district and plans in the works to extend some of its programs to other schools, Woodland Hills administrators are touting its first year as an unparalleled success.

According to unofficial PSSA test results provided by academy principal Reginald Hickman, 69 percent of students scored "proficient" in reading this past school year, compared with 56.5 percent proficiency for all district elementary students in the 2008-09 year.

Also, 86 percent of academy students were proficient in math, much higher than the previous year's elementary figure of 67.5 percent. Preliminary math scores also show no achievement gap between black and white students, as opposed to a 19.5 percent gap in 2008-09.

"The academy's results were better than any of our other elementary schools," district communications director Maria McCool wrote in an e-mail.

"Yet the academy student pool was selected by lottery from the same students in our district population. The academy teachers are all WHSD staff that were recruited from other WHSD schools. Yet in [nine] months, with the same caliber of students and teachers that populate all of our elementary schools, the academy outscored our other WHSD elementary schools."

Mr. Hickman attributed the successful year to a number of factors, including the extended school day and year, parent participation and vigilant teachers. He also praised the school's use of a Response To Intervention model of assessment, which monitors students' math and reading skills throughout the year so students can receive help for their specific difficulties.

"They're using data constantly pointing out weaknesses or areas of improvement for students at that time, and they pull them out and provide additional support for reading and math," said Mr. Hickman. "Targeting that way gets them up to their level and in time we ramp down the extra support."

While the scores are mostly considered to be a success, school director Robert Tomasic questioned whether they were the result of the district's best students leaving other schools to attend the academy.

"The question I think the administration has to answer is, we had students that were 'F' students and here are their accomplishments," he said.

Mr. Tomasic said he does not believe the district can implement all that has gone into the academy at other schools, but Mr. Hickman said the process is under way for some buildings to implement the RTI model in the upcoming school year. Schools are also expected to see technological upgrades that include Promethean Interactive Whiteboards in classrooms and labs that use iPod Touch devices.

And when the academy resumes classes Tuesday with 63 new students, a new seventh-grade class and plans to expand to a kindergarten-to-grade-eight institution, it will be poised to grow in student population and, possibly, in influence within the district.

The academy's success could help spur interest in academics throughout Woodland Hills.

"What's been funny is I've seen students in my community and asked if they're ready to go back to school, and they all say 'yes,' " Mr. Hickman said.

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