Today, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction announced the Washington Assessment of Student Learning results for the Classes of 2008 and 2009.
The numbers for the Class of 2008, which will be the first class that must pass the reading and writing portion of the WASL in order to graduate, showed strong levels of passage in reading and writing, at 86.8 percent and 86.7 percent respectively. In math, 61.7 percent met the standard.
The scores were even more encouraging when you look at just the students that have taken the WASL so far. About 95 percent of these students met the reading and writing standard and 74 percent met the standard in math.
Some students have not taken the test yet because of a mix of factors including excused/unexcused absences, truancies and refusals.
In the Class of 2009, 85.1 percent have passed the reading portion of the WASL, 88.4 percent passed the writing WASL. About 53 percent passed the math portion of the WASL.
This session, the legislature passed a variety of alternative options for students. In math, they delayed the requirement until 2013, allowing students who don't pass the WASL to graduate as long as they stay enrolled in an appropriate math class.
Over the next two years, some $55 million in funding will be directed at the state's math and science courses and improving science instruction. This money will be spent on professional development for teachers, math coaches and expanding the successful LASER program.
The Legislature appropriated about $24 million to be allocated to students who are still struggling in one or more areas of the WASL.
We're now focusing intensely on supporting struggling students instead of just "letting them blithely walk across the stage and they are not ready for college or the 21st century workplace," OSPI chief Terry Bergeson said. "We have to respect these kids enough to get them ready for the real world, every single one of them."
For more on today's test results, go to the OSPI Web site.
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