WASL tripe.....

[Juanita Doyon <Jedoyon@AOL.COM>]

- Results for grade seven dropped slightly in the number of students meeting 
standard in reading and math, but increased in writing and listening.  

WASL results show continued student progress on state learning goals

“Extraordinary transformations taking place in schools committed to ed 
reform.” 

OLYMPIA – Sept. 19, 2001 – Washington’s students continue to demonstrate the 
skills necessary to succeed beyond the classroom according to the results of 
the 2001 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).
State School Superintendent Terry Bergeson said Washington’s elementary and 
high school students continued to show progress in all four subject areas on 
the 2001 WASL. Middle school students improved in writing and listening, but 
saw declines in reading and math, Bergeson added.
“The great news is, the hard work of teachers, students and parents is paying 
off: Our students, on the whole, are growing in the kinds of skills they will 
need to succeed later in life as demonstrated by their work on the WASL,” 
said Bergeson. “Overall, the results are exciting. However, I have to say we 
will need to see deep, meaningful and systemic change in our educational 
system if we expect this trend to continue, and if we want to erase the 
achievement gap. Students of color, students with special needs and students 
who are learning English as a second language are not making the type of 
progress we want to see,” she said.
“We’re at a critical turning point in education reform,” Bergeson continued. 
“Teachers and students are beginning to realize the power of learning goals, 
and the benefit of working collaboratively to achieve those goals. In schools 
where administrators, teachers, students and parents have captured this 
vision, we are seeing an extraordinary transformation in academic 
achievement.  
“Student progress is continuing. It was strongest at the tenth grade level 
but more gradual at the fourth grade. And we’re still struggling at the 
middle school levels, especially in reading and math,” Bergeson acknowledged. 
“There must be a unified effort – betweens parents, teachers, students and 
communities – to prepare all students to live, learn and work in the 21st 
century. That will take a substantial change in the way we educate our 
children.” 
Among the overall 2001 WASL score release findings issued today by the Office 
of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

The number of students meeting standard in all subjects (reading, writing, 
listening and mathematics) improved for grades four and ten.  
> - Results for grade seven dropped slightly in the number of students meeting 
> standard in reading and math, but increased in writing and listening.  
> 

Strongest gains were made at the 10th grade in all content areas, especially 
writing  
Writing scores also improved for fourth- and seventh-graders. 
Grade 4 Results
This was the fifth year the WASL was administered to fourth-grade students.  
Reading scores improved from 65.8 percent last year to 66.1 percent of 
students meeting or exceeding standards this year. Over the five-year period 
WASL has been administered, the percent of students who met or exceeded 
reading standards increased by 18.2 percentage points.  
Math scores improved from 41.8 percent to 43.4 percent of students meeting or 
exceeding standards this year. Over the five-year period WASL has been 
administered, the percent of students who met or exceeded math standards 
increased by 22 percentage points.  
Writing scores improved from 39.4 percent to 43.3 percent of students meeting 
or exceeding standards this year.  
Listening scores also jumped from 65.3 percent last year to 72.4 percent this 
year 
Grade 7 Results
This was the fourth year the WASL was administered to seventh-grade students. 
 
Reading scores decreased from 41.5 percent last year to 39.8 percent of 
students meeting or exceeding standards this year. Over the four-year period 
WASL has been administered, the percent of students who met or exceeded 
reading standards increased by 1.4 percentage points.  
Math scores also saw a decline in seventh grade from 28.2 percent to 27.4 
percent of students meeting or exceeding standards this year. Over the 
four-year period WASL has been administered, the percent of students who met 
or exceeded math standards increased by 7.3 percentage points.  
Writing scores improved from 42.6 percent to 48.5 percent of students meeting 
or exceeding standards this year. Writing scores have improved consistently 
each year since the assessment was first given in 1998.  
Listening scores increased at the seventh grade from 79.6 percent to 82.5 
percent of students meeting or exceeding standard. 
Grade 10 Results
This was the third year the WASL was administered to 10th grade students.  
Reading scores increased from 59.8 percent last year to 62.4 percent of 
students meeting or exceeding standards this year. Over the three-year period 
WASL has been administered, the percent of students who met or exceeded 
reading standards increased by 11 percentage points.  
Math scores increased from 35 percent to 38.9 percent of students meeting or 
exceeding standards this year. Over the three-year period WASL has been 
administered, the percent of students who met or exceeded math standards 
increased by 5.9 percentage points.  
Writing scores saw a substantial increase from 31.7percent to 46.9 percent of 
students meeting or exceeding standards this year.  
Listening scores continue to increase from 77.8 percent last year to 84 
percent of students meeting or exceeding standards this year. 
Among the findings related to special student populations: 
Race/Ethnicity  
Slight improvements in the percentage of fourth-grade students of color 
meeting standard in reading, writing and mathematics and listening  
Slight decreases in the percent of seventh-grade Asian/Pacific Islanders, 
Black and Hispanic students meeting standard in math (same as white student 
trend)  
Noteworthy increases in the percent of all seventh-grade students of color 
meeting standard in writing  
Gains across all racial/ethnic groups in the percent of all tenth-grade 
students meeting the standard in all content areas.  
Special Education Students  
All students in special education programs are now being assessed either 
through the WASL, the WASL with accommodations or through the Washington 
Alternative Assessment System (WAAS)  
More students in special education programs participated in the Washington 
assessment system  
More students in special education programs met the standard this year in the 
fourth and tenth grades across all content areas  
Bilingual Students
More bilingual students met standard this year across all grades in writing 
and listening 
> 
> >> 
>> - Slight drop noted in seventh grade reading and mathematics 
> 

Data indicates Washington has two large groups of bilingual students:  
> 
> >> 
>> - Multilingual districts where students speak up to 72 different languages 
>> – predominantly in western Washington 
>> - Bilingual districts where one language (usually Spanish) is the main 
>> language among bilingual students – predominantly in eastern Washington 
> 

OSPI is undertaking major changes in the bilingual education program to 
improve the English proficiency and academic achievement of these students, 
said Bergeson.  
> 
> >> 
>> - Five-point plan for improvement includes implementing a single language 
>> proficiency assessment, increasing the number of bilingual education 
>> teachers, and developing bilingual education programs to handle districts 
>> with large bilingual populations and districts with large multi-lingual 
>> 
> 

“Our goal is to help students in the bilingual education program make a 
smooth transition from their native language to English at the same time they 
are gaining academic concepts and skills,” Bergeson said. 
 
Gender 
READING - Girls continue to score higher than boys in all grades, ranging 
from 8.7 percentage points in grade 4 to 13.9 percentage points in grade 10. 
Scores for boys declined in reading in grades 4 and 7. 
MATHEMATICS – Girls and boys are achieving at the same levels across all 
grades. Gains were made in grades 4 and 10. 
WRITING – Girls scores were markedly higher than boys in all grades in 
writing. 
Reading Goals 
66.1 percent of students in Washington students met standard in 2001, just 
shy of the statewide goal of 66.7 percent – a difference of 459 students.  
171 school districts (68 percent) met or exceeded the state reading goal  
> 
> >> 
>> - 81 districts (32 percent) did not  
>> - 44 districts were exempt from the reporting requirement because they had 
>> fewer than 10 students  
> 

640 schools (63 percent) met or exceeded the state reading goal  
> 
> >> 
>> - 381 schools (37 percent) did not  
> 

65 schools were exempted from the reporting requirement. Fewer than 585 
students were affected by school and district exemptions. 
In looking to the new school year, Bergeson outlined a series of challenges 
and action items to improve student learning. Highlights include: 
A targeted initiative to support middle/junior high school students 
Implementation of a $15 million federal grant to improve early reading in 
struggling schools 
Implementation of a $5 million federal grant to improve learning for students 
with disabilities 
Doubling the highly-effective Math Helping Corps 
Launch electronic planning tool that will revolutionize school improvement 
planning 
“OSPI will take a leadership role in each of these challenges to ensure the 
desired outcome,” added Bergeson. “But we must come to understand that 
improved student learning is a shared responsibility. Our educators cannot – 
and should not – bear this burden alone. The kind of change we’re focused on 
requires all of us to do our part to help ALL children succeed. Thanks a 
million for your ongoing commitment to our kids.”