Students are back at it for the annual round of high-stakes testing.
For some students, the correct answer is within easy grasp. For others, it is more elusive.
Whatever the case, as Bainbridge sophomores embark on a bubble-filling bonanza, they’re being reminded that the trek toward “proficiency” shouldn’t feel like a death march.
“We take the whole thing seriously,” said Bainbridge High School Principal Brent Peterson, of 2007 Washington Assessment of Student Learning testing, which began this week. “But we try to balance the seriousness of the test with a sense of normalcy so it isn’t some awful thing.”
Tuesday marked the first of nine days of WASL testing, which for the past decade has measured student skills and knowledge in reading, writing, math and science.
Though Bainbridge schools scored near the top of the state in last year’s testing, students, teachers and officials know well the implications of a letdown.
This year’s sophomores are the second class whose graduation rests in part on a successful WASL performance.
That could change since Gov. Chris Gregoire last fall recommended the math portion of the WASL – which students statewide have had demonstrable trouble passing – should not be required to graduate, for at least the next three years.
Gregoire’s recommendation was backed by the state Superintendent of Education and the state Board of Education, but any change must first go through the Legislature.
A similar reprieve on the science portion of the exam – set to become a graduation requirement in 2010 – is also under discussion.
“It’s hard to say where the Legislature will go because right now there are multiple proposals,” said Deputy Superintendent Faith Chapel, who is in charge of curriculum and instruction at the district.
Along with possibly changing graduation requirements, the state is looking to revamp math and science curriculum, which educators say is lagging behind more stringent academic standards that have taken hold in recent years.
Some 86 percent of last year’s BHS sophomores passed the math WASL on their first try, much higher than the 51 percent passing marks in math statewide, but considerably lower than their 98 percent proficiency on the reading exam and 97 percent in writing.
On WASL re-takes last summer, 16 of 28 BHS students cleared the math hurdle on their second try.
Still, Chapel said changes to the requirements shouldn’t be the focus of students who must take the test regardless. Furthermore, she said, the focus should be on year-round learning, not test preparation.
“One of the most important things we can do as educators is make sure the things teachers are doing in the classroom every day are aligned with the values that are established in the curriculum,” she said. “We want teachers and students to be aware of the standards so that when the test comes we don’t hear them say ‘what do you want me to do?’”
Peterson said students often see assignments in a “WASL-like” format in their day-to-day work, and that WASL preparation actually begins in younger grades, where students first become familiar with the test’s format.
Students in grades three through eight will take the WASL in April and May.
Tenth graders and other high school students – those ninth graders who choose to take the test early and older students who haven’t meet the standard for a portion of the test – will take the writing and reading portions during the next two weeks. Math and science testing at the high school level will begin next month.
The test consists multiple-choice, short-answer and essay questions. Because it isn’t timed, students can spend as much or as little time crafting their answers as they choose.
Peterson said most spend around two hours each day working on the test, which will be administered at the school’s regular start time. Students not taking the test have a late arrival on test days.
“We know certain students may do their best work in the evening,” Peterson said. “But some structure is required because everyone in the state has to take the test at the same time.”
Multiple-choice questions for the reading, math and science portions of the test are scored by a machine.
Open-ended questions are scored by “trained raters” who use scoring guides defined by Washington educators, according to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Schools receive tenth grade results in June. Results from other grades arrive in August, the same month in which students can retake all or portions of the test.
The state allows each student four retakes, but Peterson said the district aims to eliminate that by helping students succeed the first time around.
“There’s no getting around the fact that some students feel more stress than others in a performance-on-demand situation,” Peterson said. “We do our best to give all students an appropriate setting so they can show their best work.”
