Options for those who fail WASL explored
By Linda Shaw
When teacher Ian Duncan got the list of his students who failed the writing
section of last spring's Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), some
of the names surprised him. He figures nerves got the best of a couple of them,
or lack of sleep. And it really took him aback that it included two students
who received an A in his language-arts class at Sammamish High.
Next fall, however,
"I'm a huge proponent of the idea that there are multiple ways to assess
student learning,"
The Legislature voted in 2004 to allow alternatives to the 10th-grade WASL when
passing that exam becomes a graduation requirement in 2008. Just what those
alternatives might be, however, is now becoming clear.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction recently put the
finishing touches on its two proposals — the portfolio of class work that
Those proposals had their first hearing Thursday in
There's wide agreement that alternatives should be available — and soon. But
lots of debate is expected over what kind of alternatives and, even more
contentious, when students should be able to choose them.
The recommendations from the state superintendent's office stick with what
state law now requires: This year's sophomores must fail the 10th-grade WASL
twice before they can opt for an alternative in any of the three subjects they
must pass by 2008: reading, writing and math.
After that, however, OSPI is proposing that students can continue to retake the
test (for free up to three more times) or choose one of two alternatives:
submit a portfolio of their work, or a comparison of their grades with their
peers. In the latter, OSPI has outlined a rather complicated method of
comparing one student's marks with those of at least six other students at his
school who took at least two of the same classes and passed the WASL by a small
margin.
OSPI officials considered but ruled out a simpler grade-point comparison, said
Bob Butts, who's heading up the so-called "alternative assessment"
effort at OSPI. There's just too much variability in the way different schools
grade and the difficulty of classes that different students take, he said.
The agency also considered but decided against letting end-of-course exams or
the SAT replace the WASL if students' scores were high enough.
OSPI favored the grade and portfolio approaches in part because teachers and
others wanted some way for a student's class work, done over time, to count as
much as a single morning with a No. 2 pencil, Butts said.
Many of the details still are under discussion, such as what kind of work a
student would have to submit in the portfolio, and whether students would have
to reach a certain score on the WASL in order to use the grade comparison. Some
of the answers will come after the teachers finish the pilot this spring.
One challenge is to ensure any alternative isn't just an easy way around the
WASL, Butts said, and can be scored fairly. But he's convinced that can be
done.
Lawmakers also will discuss proposals to allow students to choose an
alternative without having to fail the WASL first. Those are at the heart of
proposals from Gardner and the Washington Education Association.
The WEA, for example, is working on a point system in which students would need
to earn a certain number to graduate. Grades, for example, would get the most
weight — perhaps a maximum of 70 out of a possible 100 points for students with
all A's. The WASL, however, might just be worth a maximum of 10.
To WEA President Charles Hasse, that puts the WASL in
its proper context — as one measure, not the deciding factor in whether a
student graduates.
In the meantime, however, the pilots of OSPI's
methods are going forward at Sammamish High and about 19 other schools
statewide.
lshaw@seattletimes.com
Linda Shaw
Seattle Times
1-13-2006