More Than Half Of State's Sophomores Flunked WASL

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By By Michelle Esteban

Summary

More 10th graders improved their reading and math scores this year over last year, but their scores in writing went down.

Story Published: Aug 31, 2005 at 3:27 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 2:03 AM PDT

More Than Half Of State's Sophomores Flunked WASL
SEATTLE - Here's something you don't want to hear, but it's true: More than half of Washington high school sophomores failed the critical WASL exam.

Districts know it's a number they cannot afford to repeat.

"We're working hard," says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson at a Wednesday morning news conference to announce the WASL results.

The new WASL scores do show real and significant improvements, but they also show a need for improvement.

"There is something very wrong with the picture painted here today," says Washington Education Association President Charles Hasse.

More 10th graders improved their reading and math scores this year over last year, but their scores in writing went down.

But overall? Slightly more than half of Washington sophomores failed the WASL last spring. They need to meet the standard in reading, math and writing to pass the WASL.

And, if the Class of 2008 doesn't pass, they don't graduate.

"It's not appropriate to use a single test to make important decisions about the future of students," says Hasse.

"Those young people deserve a bright future and we need them to help them establish and ensure the future we have as Americans," Bergeson said.

She insists the WASL must remain a graduation requirement, adding it will better prepare Washington students for college and the real world.

"Their diploma is going to mean a lot more," says Stadium High School student Cecilia Velazquez, who graduates in 2006. She says she's actually jealous that her transcripts won't include a WASL graduation requirement.

"I think it's going make employers look at the Class of 2008 and beyond as more qualified," she said.

Velazquez took the WASL twice to improve her score, and 10th graders who fail the WASL next Spring can retake it up to five times.

"Just knowing you can try again makes it a little bit less frightening," says Velazquez.

She's also a student-to-student facilitator. That means she volunteers to teach freshman. Her lesson plan? What you need to graduate -- specifically the ABC's of the WASL and graduation requirements.

Mt. Tahoma Junior Tammy Phan is a facilitator too.

"I like to reach out to other students...we're used to saying it's (WASL) hard and we're gonna quit and we need to take the WASL and say we're gonna do it."

"It's not all over next spring, they have a number of opportunities and a lot of support will come to them," says Bergeson.

Districts may learn from each other. At Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, sophomores improved in every category.

"Students can't be successful if they can't read, so that's been the backbone of every classroom," says Joshua Garcia, building principal at Todd Beamer High School. More than 80 percent of Todd Beamer sophomores are meeting the reading requirement.

"I'm proud of my kids and my staff, not the scores. The scores are just one indicator," says Garcia. "We have to be intentional, we have to have accountability in our field."

The pressure is on, districts and teachers know they can't afford a repeat of last spring failing WASL scores.

An emphasis on reading helped 4th and 7th graders. they improved all their scores.

Next year, the legislature will vote on alternatives to the WASL, but they're still being developed. And students who fail the WASL twice can opt for an alternative test.