WASL
rule surprises schools
Schools
are scrambling over a little-known state change to keep test scores from being
printed on high school transcripts.
The Legislature
in 2004 passed a law that required schools to start printing information about
students' performance on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning,
including their highest scores on the reading, writing and math exams.
The rule was to
take effect with this year's graduating seniors. Then, as the 2006 session
wrapped up in March, lawmakers backed off on most of those requirements.
Many schools
are only now becoming aware of the change after the state Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction detailed the new rules.
This is what's
coming off the list of required elements:
* Whether a
student met standards by taking a WASL test or approved alternative.
* The highest
scale score and level achieved in each subject area on the WASL.
* A scholar's
designation for students who scored in the highest level on their first try.
Transcripts
still must note whether students have "met" or "not met"
the state's WASL standard, dubbed the Certificate of Academic Achievement.
Many local high
school juniors and seniors retook portions of the WASL to boost their scores
because of the requirement.
For now, the
state recommends that school districts use the current form of the transcript recommended
by the state Board of Education, which includes WASL scores. However, districts
can legally choose to drop them.
"Districts
need to determine how to respond to students who do not wish their final
transcript to include their 2004-05 WASL performance information," the
bulletin says.
Many districts
say they don't know what they are going to do.
"It falls
on the districts, and it's very labor-intensive, and there is absolutely no
funding," said Gail Miller, assistant superintendent in the
"It's sort
of a confusing issue all the way around," she said.
The district
started printing WASL scores on transcripts last year and does not plan a
wholesale change, she said.
One idea could
be to treat the scores like the contact information schools legally must
provide military recruiters - reporting the information unless parents sign a
form requesting otherwise.
Transcript
forms provided by a vendor to
It may cause
consternation for some high-scoring students applying to state colleges.
"Just because (a score) won't be on the transcript doesn't mean you won't
be asked for it," she said.
Still, O'Neil
said she expects the impact to be minimal, noting that students can let
colleges know about their achievement on the WASL in other ways.
Larry Davis,
executive director of the State Board of Education, said he feels bad for
school districts.
"It's a
one-time-only transition period," he said. "It's going to be chaotic,
but it's just for this once."
Along with the
usual record of grades, credits and attendance history, transcripts also will
identify whether students took college-level or technical preparation classes
such as Running Start or advanced placement classes.
Starting with
the Class of 2008, schools also must note whether students met other state
graduation requirements, including a senior project and "high school and
beyond" plan.
To see a sample
of the current suggested transcript, which includes WASL scores, go to
www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/ transcriptsamples05.pdf.
Reporter
Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.