WASL retakes mixed

Published 5:00 am Saturday, November 11, 2006

BHS juniors struggle in math.

Bainbridge students passed 33 of 46 retakes of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, according to results released Wednesday by state education officials.

Some of the students who participated in August’s optional retake were actually taking the test for the first time because they missed the initial exam, said school district Deputy Superintendent Faith Chapel.

Still, as educators across the state scurry to help students meet WASL standards that are now tied to graduation requirements, the results offered a glimpse at how struggling students are adjusting – particularly in math, the state’s biggest problem area.

Of the 28 Bainbridge students who in August took the math portion of the test, 16 passed. Twelve of 13 passed writing, while all five tested in reading passed.

“Our students have done well,” Chapel said. “I think we’ll continue to see additional students having success, especially after a whole year of additional instruction.”

The class of 2008 – now juniors – are the first that must pass the reading, writing and math portions of the test to graduate. August was the first opportunity for students to retake all or portions of the test since they first took it last spring.

The state Legislature this year allocated $28.5 million to school districts to help struggling students fare better on the WASL, proficiency on which is now part of the state’s graduation requirements.

That money was distributed based on need and, because Bainbridge students have done comparatively well, they’ve seen little of it. The district did offer extra help over the summer to students, though many didn’t sign up because results from the first test weren’t revealed until the middle of June.

Chapel said she expects the number of retakes to jump significantly during the next round of testing in the spring.

Statewide, 11,673 students of the class of 2008 took the August test. Of those, 2,340 more are now on track to graduate.

Worries stilll persist about whether school curriculums adequately prepare students for the new requirements.

Of some 68,000 students in the class of 2008 who have taken all three WASL tests, 87 percent have met proficiency in the reading test, while 86 percent have passed the writing portion.

But students – including the 14 percent of Bainbridge 10th-graders who didn’t pass the math test in the spring – continue to struggle in that subject, with only 58 percent of the class of 2008 showing proficiency.

Part of the problem, according to state Superintendent Terry Bergeson, is the competition with the private sector for teachers, who often find better pay in other fields.

“With our current level of resources we are really struggling,” Bergeson said during a Wednesday teleconference with the media. “We’re struggling to find new teaching strategies. Clearly we’re in a major transition at our secondary schools.”

Bainbridge students, though showing some struggles in math, remain largely insulated from statistical trends elsewhere.

Results from the spring showed proficiencies of 98, 97 and 86 percent in reading, writing and math respectively. Science scores – not yet part of the graduation requirements – were lower, at 74 percent.

Statewide proficiency from the spring test was 82 percent in reading, 51 percent in math, 78 percent in writing and 35 percent in science.

The WASL measures student skills and knowledge and has been administered to Washington state students in grades four, seven and 10 for the past decade. This year was the first in which the test was administered to students in grades three, five, six and eight.

But the most-watched among them continue to be the current junior class, whose diplomas are in the balance. Like Chapel, Bergeson said those students will benefit from an extra year of help.

“We didn’t expect that this summer would be nirvana,” she said.