Gibson Ek makes project-based learning legible to colleges

The school model

Gibson Ek High School is a public choice high school in Issaquah School District. Students do not move through a traditional schedule of classes and letter grades. They build learning through projects, advisory, internships, and exhibitions.

The model asks students to show what they can do in public. Each year includes exhibitions of learning, and internships connect school work to the community outside the building.

What gets measured

Gibson Ek organizes assessment around five learning goals: quantitative reasoning, empirical reasoning, communication, social reasoning, and personal qualities. Those goals give students and advisors a shared language for growth.

That kind of record needs more than a gradebook. A project, internship, or exhibition can show evidence across more than one area, and the transcript has to preserve that context for readers.

Why the transcript matters

Gibson Ek describes itself as a key member of the national Mastery Transcript Consortium, helping pilot a portfolio-based, narrative transcript portal used by universities to evaluate applicants from project-based schools.

For families and colleges, that matters because the student record matches the learning model. Students can leave with a transcript that makes their project work, community work, and demonstrated skills understandable to people who were not in the room.

What this proves

The Gibson Ek story shows how a public school can move beyond grades without losing clarity. The work is local, personal, and project-based. The record still gives colleges a consistent way to understand it.