SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Improved test scores helped Slippery Rock High School to earn recognition this year as a National Blue Ribbon School.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Tuesday announced the 335 Blue Ribbon Schools nationwide for 2015.

The Blue Ribbon program evaluates a school over five years and looks at schools that either have “very high learning standards” or have made “notable improvements in closing the achievement gap.”

Kristie Shulsky, former high school principal, and Jake Jefferis, former assistant principal, will travel to Washington, D.C., for a two-day conference on Nov. 9 -10 to receive a plaque, flag and ribbon noting the school’s accomplishment.

Shulsky now is the Moraine Elementary School principal, and Jefferis is the middle school principal.

Shulsky, who was the principal for the five years covered by the review, said it is an honor for the school and the community.

Shulsky said, “It shows our work on curriculum and assessment and moving the high school forward in a positive direction.”

Superintendent Alfonso Angelucci said the award highlights the achievements of the high school students, their parents and the staff.

The period looked at for the award was from 2010 to 2015. Before 2010, the school’s test scores and academic achievements were not among the best in the region, but they have steadily climbed.

For the 2013-14 school year, the high school had a Pennsylvania School Performance Profile score of 91. That was the second-highest score out of the 27 districts in Butler, Mercer and Lawrence counties that compose Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV.

Only Mars High School, with a score of 91.4, was higher.