School districts assess results of state WASL exams
October 7, 2008
By Staff
10th-grade science scores show biggest gains
By Chantelle Lusebrink
Issaquah School District students made big gains in their Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams this year.
The district’s students in fifth, seventh, eighth and 10th grade all went up significantly. In most cases, they went up between 2 and 6 percentage points. However, the biggest gain was in the 10th-grade science exam scores, where there was a gain of more than 14 percentage points, from 54.9 percent passing in 2007 to 69.6 percent passing in 2008.
“It is a combination of factors, and one of the major ones is that we’ve been working on our science curriculum and staff development for a number of years, and we’re seeing that growth at the high school levels now, because of that,” said Sharon Manion, director of assessment for the district.
The scores at the high school level are extremely important, as students have to pass some of the tests as a graduation requirement.
Students in the classes of 2008 and beyond are required to pass the reading and writing WASL exams for graduation. In addition, they have to pass either the math exam or take additional math credits to meet that requirement, until new end-of-course assessments are created and approved by the Legislature.
Science is not yet a requirement for graduation, but becomes one in 2013.
The seventh-grade scores in Issaquah bucked the state trend, which generally saw WASL scores fall from 2007 to 2008. Issaquah’s seventh-grade WASL scores rose.
“I think, in general, we are pretty pleased,” Manion said. “There is always room for improvement and we’d always like to experience bigger gains than we experience. But, in general, with a few minor exceptions, we pretty much held steady.
“When we see so many districts have steep declines at so many grade levels in so many areas that we haven’t experienced, that encourages us, because we know how hard our teachers are working,” she said.
The district’s third-, fourth- and sixth-grade WASL scores fell slightly in nearly every category.
The largest drop in scores was at the sixth-grade level in math, where scores fell from 72.8 percent in 2007 to 68.9 percent this year.
“A little drop or little growth is normal in the variability of the test, which is why, as a district, we look at 5 percentage points as a significant gain or loss but 3.9 percentage points is not that significant,” Manion said. “But that doesn’t mean that we won’t focus on math.”
Hazen, McKnight, Hazelwood post increases
By Jim Feehan
Results from the most recent Washington Assessment of Student Learning test show Renton School District students improved their scores in reading, mathematics, science and writing. The tests were given this past spring to students throughout the state.
Renton students improved in many categories, with the biggest gains in mathematics and writing.
About 91 percent of Hazen High School 10th-graders passed the writing assessment, a 10 percent increase from 2007. Eight in ten Hazen sophomores met state standards in reading this year.
About 48 percent of McKnight Middle School eighth-graders met state standards in science, a 4 percent increase from 2007. McKnight seventh-graders posted a 7 percent decline (69 percent passed) in writing from 2007 and 1 percent gain (47 percent passed) in math from 2007.
At Hazelwood Elementary School, 92 percent of third-graders passed the reading test while 89 percent passed the math portion of the exam this year. Eight in ten fourth-graders met state standards in writing, a 24 percent increase from 2007.
“We’re pleased by the direction, as most of the numbers are heading up,” said Randy Matheson, district spokesman. “Hispanic, black and students who speak English as a second language all increased considerably on WASL scores.”
Similarly, districts across the state witnessed many score increases this year, said Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction.
A vast majority of students in the classes of 2009 and 2010, incoming 11th- and 12th-graders, have already met state graduation requirements, Bergeson said.
Incoming seniors in the class of 2009 are ahead of the pace set last year at this time by the graduating class of 2008, the first to be required to meet state graduation requirements.
Eighty-six percent of incoming seniors in the class of 2009 have passed both the reading and writing requirement, compared to 83.6 percent in the class of 2008 at this time last year.
Incoming seniors who have yet to pass one or more of the state testing requirements have several options remaining before graduation in late spring. In addition to the reading and writing WASL exams in March 2009, seniors can meet the reading and writing graduation requirement by using legislatively approved alternatives. Most students fulfill the reading and writing requirement by passing the high school WASL. Many students in special education programs also have testing options.
Students do not have to pass the math WASL to graduate. However, students who do not pass the math WASL must earn two credits of math after 10th grade and take an annual math assessment (the WASL or a legislatively approved alternative, such as a collection of evidence, or the SAT, ACT or Advanced Placement exams).
“School districts and schools are keeping track of students’ paths to graduation better than ever before,” Bergeson said. “I encourage students to check on their overall graduation status with their school counselors at the beginning of the school year to ensure there are no surprises at the end.”
This past spring’s WASL testing in grades three through eight showed mixed results, with fifth- and eighth-graders showing marked improvement in reading, math and science, while fourth- and seventh-graders slipped in reading and math, but improved in writing.
Overall, elementary school and secondary students improved in nine subject categories, were within 1 percent (plus or minus) in five categories and dropped in six.
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