Hard work pays off, and about 200 students, parents and teachers in the Madison School District got a first-hand example Thursday.

The district held its annual Academic Celebration at Madison Accelerated Middle School. The event is a chance to honor students who meet or exceed state standards in tests given in March and April of the previous school year.

Students were given certificates.

"It's wonderful, I'm happy because I succeeded in the stuff I need to," said Faith Williams, an eighth-grade student. "It's going to get me somewhere someday."

Classmate Leslie Hardin also said her hard work paid off.

"I want to be a lot of stuff, and I think I can get far, so it's very important," she said. "I'm just happy for all my fellow classmates who did good."

Senior Alishia Jacks said she was proud of herself and her classmates for what they have accomplished.

"It's very important, because this gets you noticed and accepted to colleges," she said.

"Our students need to know that their efforts are recognized and rewarded," said interim Superintendent Sandra Schroeder. "They need to be publicly recognized so that they know just how much it means to work hard and succeed."

She added that the district, which had just recently received results of last year's ISAT and PSAE tests, had performed "the best we've done, ever."

She said the district's elementary and middle school tests put them in "safe harbor," status, meaning those schools increased test scores by at least 10 percent over the previous year's.

She said Madison High School also made progress, but "not as much as we'd like."

"We're certainly on the right track," she added.

The district and school results will be made public later.

"There's a lot of promise here in this school district, a lot of underdeveloped promise," she said.

At the event, Schroeder told the crowd that there are so many participants now that it will have to be moved to the high school next year.

Approximately 270 of the 498 students tested met or exceeded state standards.

Schroeder said that when she came to the district six years ago, in some cases the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standard was "in the teens."

"They've made a 40 or 50 percent increase," she said. "A huge improvement."

"To see this many kids and to see that we don't have room in here anymore is evidence that the progress is being made," she added.