Sophomores to get WASL news next week

High school sophomores should find out next week whether they passed the state’s high-stakes exam now required for graduation and whether summer will be spent preparing for another crack at the test in August.

Early results for students in grades 10 through 12, who took the Washington Assessment of Student Learning this spring, will likely be released to school districts June 8, officials with the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction said Thursday.

Parents will then receive an Individual Score Report from schools, indicating whether their child passed the reading, math and writing sections of the exam.

State officials said results for sophomores – the first class required to pass all three portions of the WASL to earn a high school diploma – are a priority this year so students and parents can decide how to proceed.

Students who didn’t pass will need to decide whether to enroll in summer school, when to retake the test, or what kinds of remedial programs may be required next year, said Kim Schmanke, OSPI spokeswoman.

If they passed, “they can say, ‘Yeah, I’ve earned my certificate of academic achievement, and I can move on to the rest of my high school career without this being a worry,’ ” Schmanke said.

The release of WASL scores before the end of the school year is a first for the state.

Results are typically released in early fall, with statewide percentages of those students in all grades who passed or didn’t.

Scores for elementary and middle school students, ninth-graders, and students in special education programs who used alternative methods to take the test will not be available until fall. Science scores, which will not be a graduation requirement until 2014, will also be held until fall.

And early results for sophomores still won’t provide an accurate picture of how many sophomores statewide passed the exam.

State officials said unresolved issues with duplicated textbooks make it difficult to calculate a percentage.

“The focus of our June release is really about individual students,” said Joe Willhoft, director of assessment at OSPI. “So they can make wise and deliberate decisions.”

Sophomore students who did not pass the test this spring can register to take it again in August at several designated sites throughout the state. It’s the first time the test will be administered outside of the school year, Willhoft said.

Students can retake the WASL free of charge up to four times, and then a fee would be assessed. After taking the exam twice, under new rules adopted by the Legislature students can also show proficiency through other options, including comparing a student’s grades to other students’ in certain courses, and a “collection of evidence” similar to a portfolio of work.

Many school districts will also be offering state-funded WASL remediation classes this summer for students who did not pass one or more sections of the test.