White River shows WASL improvement
Published 12:02 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Brenda Sexton
The Courier-Herald
"We're improving, but we have a ways to go," White River School District Assessment and Curriculum Director Mike Jacobsen said Thursday morning after the state released its 2005 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) results to the public.
The WASL is designed to measure how well students are meeting the state's academic standards in reading, mathematics, writing and science. The standards were created by a group of Washington educators and citizens in the mid-1990s and are designed to reflect the skills and knowledge students need in order to be successful as adults.
The WASL is used as a tool to measure student knowledge of subject matter, however starting with the graduating class of 2008, passing the WASL will be a requirement to receive a diploma.
Jacobsen said the White River district's efforts - implementing reading and math programs - have been reflected in gains across the board, especially in the elementary school level.
According to the state, 82.8 percent of White River's fourth-graders met the reading standard, 61.4 percent in math and 59 percent in writing. Another 34.7 percent of the district's fifth grade students met the state's science standard.
In Washington state, 79.2 percent of fourth-graders met the reading standard, 60.6 in math and 57.5 percent in writing, while 35.5 percent of fifth-graders met the science standard.
Of the district's seventh-grade students, 67.5 percent met the reading standard, 49.1 percent in math and 51.4 percent in writing. In science, 26.9 percent of eighth-graders met standard.
Across the state, 68.7 percent of seventh-graders met the state's reading standard, 50.5 percent in math and 60.9 percent in writing. The state reports 36.2 percent of eighth-graders met its science standard.
At the 10th-grade level, 63.3 percent of WRHS sophomores met the state reading standard, 35.3 percent in math and 56.0 in writing. Science is at 27.6 percent.
By comparison, statewide 72.4 percent of 10th graders met reading standards, 47.1 percent in math, 64.7 percent in writing and 35.6 percent in science.
"We're pleased with the growth," Jacobsen said. "Our efforts are making an impact. The challenge is, we have a ways to go, and we know that."
Jacobsen said WASL results give district staff an opportunity to see where there may be holes in instruction, or which students may need more personalized or tailored instruction.
"Pinpointing our strengths and weaknesses has been a focus and will continue to be a focus," Jacobsen said.
In previous years, the district adopted elementary and middle school reading and math programs and is starting to see gains in those areas. The next move will be to implement similar programs at the high school level.
Jacobsen said district leaders will continue to focus on the alignment of grade-level expectations and a "taught and tested" curriculum to make sure the skills and knowledge is embedded with the students.
More detailed information regarding test results is planned for the district's Sept. 15 school board meeting.
Individual WASL results will be released to parents and guardians. More information is available at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Web site, www.k12.-wa.us.
