State releases WASL scores

Thousands of additional high school students in the class of 2008 have passed all three sections of the WASL, preliminary results show, but thousands more face the possibility of no diploma next year.

According to WASL results released Friday for high school students only, 13 percent of students have not passed reading and writing portions of the test. Both are required for graduation next year.

Math, which was set to be a requirement for 2008 but delayed by the state Legislature until 2013, continues to be a problem.

Of the 23,000 juniors who attempted the math test again this spring – or those who failed it at least once before – 5,788 passed.

Nearly half of this year’s sophomores who took the test for the first time this spring did not pass the math section.

“A miracle did not happen in math in terms of this class,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson.

While the state released preliminary figures for high school students, most school districts refused to release preliminary scores. Only students and families will be given their scores.

Officials with Spokane County’s three largest districts – Spokane Public Schools, Mead School District and Central Valley School District – said they wanted to wait to clean up the results

“There are so many changes that get made (to the data),” said Kristy Mylroie, a spokeswoman with Spokane schools. “It’s kind of meaningless now because it’s just raw data.”

Figures released by the state do not include scores for special education students, and there are too many unresolved tests, school officials said.

According to the state, there are more than 14,000 tests for 11th-graders with unresolved issues, and more than 23,000 for 10th-graders. Those include things like dual test booklets for students and lost exams.

Friday’s score report was provided so students and parents can begin to make arrangements for summer school and other remedial options, school officials said.

Scores for all other grades and additional data, such as how special education students performed, will be released in August.

Some highlights from the state results and the percentage of students who have met standard and will graduate on time:

“11th grade (class of 2008): reading, 86.8 percent; writing, 86.7 percent; mathematics, 61.7 percent. Some students have taken the test three times.

“10th grade (class of 2009): reading, 85.1 percent; writing, 88.4 percent; mathematics, 53.4 percent. These numbers include about 6,000 students who took the test last year in ninth grade. Students can opt to take the test early.

Students in the class of 2008 who improved their scores enough to pass the WASL on their second or third try:

“Reading, 5,197 more passed; 5,719 have yet to meet the standard.

“Writing, 6,146 more passed; 5,589 have yet to meet the standard.

“Math, 5,788 more passed; 21,082 have yet to meet the standard.

Despite the delay in math, students who did not meet standard must continue to take rigorous math courses.

Typically, students are required to take two to three years of math. Under changes in state law, students who don’t pass math must take an additional year.

Students also can fail the test once before seeking proficiency through an alternative approved by the state. Those include scoring high on the SAT or ACT college-entrance exams or submitting a collection of work samples to show skills expected on the WASL.

Central Valley High School junior Karen Akins joined about 53 students in the district who were putting together collections to submit next week, pending scores from exams taken this spring. Akins previously failed all three sections of the WASL and took it again this spring.

The teen found out Friday that she had passed all three, said her mother, Valerie Akins.

“This is a huge relief for us. We are going celebrating tonight for sure,” said Valerie Akins.

“It really demoralizes the kids; they are so concerned about graduating and then everything relies on this one test.”