How odd - Blue Ribbon High Schools Are all four above average? Is this hype or achievement?

I was just looking at Dr. Bergeson's nominations for High Schools of particular merit. Four High Schools from Washington are Blue Ribbon winners.

All four high schools are from districts with less than 2500 student population.
Vashon and Pullman are very select demographically. Vashon uses a five period day on trimesters and covers a lot of content in math classes. The other two blue ribbon high schools are Chelan and Northport.

Strikes me that school districts of size are not represented here at all.

Northport School District's High School was nominated by Dr. Bergeson.
According to OSPI data this district has 208 students and as a result spends about $15,000 per student.

The WASL results for Northport High 10th graders from Spring 2007 to Spring 2008 at the 10th grade level show declines in reading, writting, math, and science. Some of these declines are quite significant. I guess the award was based on the previous year's test scores. So what does that tell us about the value of such awards? Small schools often have significant year to year variations. Did Northport receive this award due to a quality program or small school statistical variation from one class to the next?

What does this Blue Ribbon award indicate?

Here is a link to Northport WASL scores:
http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?groupLevel=District&schoolId=254&reportLevel=District&orgLinkId=254&yrs=&year=2007-08

Here is a link to the OSPI press release:
http://www.k12.wa.us/Communications/pressreleases2008/BlueRibbonSchools2008-09.aspx

Lake Chelan's High School is also a Blue Ribbon winner with about a 70% graduation rate.
Data can be found here:
http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?groupLevel=District&schoolId=27&reportLevel=District&orgLinkId=27&yrs=&year=2007-08

---------------------------------
To put all this in perspective a medium sized district like North Thurston in Lacey WASL tests around 1000 tenth graders.
In Spring 2008

Pullman tested 162
Vashon tested 153
Chelan tested 78 out of 119 10th graders
and
Northport tested 13 of their 15 10th graders

Should Dr. Bergeson and Margaret Spellings get a Blue Ribbon for pulling the Wool over our eyes?

I do not question that Vashon and Pullman have high quality programs that graduate 85 to 90% of their students. I question that NCLB and Dr. Bergeson have anything to do with the success at these schools.