Award Lauds 5 for Superb WASL Marks: Big Gains in Students’ Math, Reading Test Scores Rewarded

By Heather Woodward, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Oct. 11–When it comes to improving student scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, five South Sound schools were named among the best in the state Wednesday.

The five schools are Littlerock and Roosevelt elementary schools, Rochester Middle School, and Rainier and Tenino high schools. Those schools are among 86 statewide that represent the top 5 percent of elementary, middle and high schools in Washington for improving students’ reading and math WASL scores in the past six years.

The schools received the 2007 State Superintendent’s Learning Improvement Award and the designation of “School of Distinction.”

Littlerock Elementary

A Tumwater School District school, Littlerock saw its fourth-grade reading WASL scores improve by almost 25 points in the past six years, and its fourth-grade math WASL scores nearly doubled in that time.

Principal Nate Pulley said that in recent years, Littlerock staff members have studied student test data, added computer programs that allow students to work at reading and math skills at their own pace and offered before- and after-school tutoring.

“It really is a systems approach,” Pulley said. “From day one starting in kindergarten all the way through fourth grade, our teachers are working really hard to collaborate.”

Roosevelt Elementary

Roosevelt, an Olympia School District school, saw its fourth-grade reading WASL scores improve by almost 20 points in the past six years, and its fourth-grade math WASL scores more than doubled in that time.

Principal Domenico Spatola-Knoll said reading has been a big focus at Roosevelt in recent years, and that has included hiring a reading coordinator to support classroom teachers. Roosevelt teachers have used what they learned from their successes in reading to help students in math, too, he said.

Rochester Middle

The Rochester School District’s lone middle school saw its seventh-grade reading WASL scores more than double in the past six years, and its seventh-grade math WASL scores have increased fivefold in that time.

Students are arriving at the middle school better prepared by their elementary teachers, and middle school teachers are working more closely together, Rochester officials said. Also, the school has done more to study individual student data, Rochester officials said.

Rainier High

The Rainier School District’s lone high school saw its 10th-grade reading and math WASL scores each increase by almost 25 points in the past six years.

Longer class periods, instruction tailored to individual students and a school-wide focus on reading have helped make those increases possible, Rainier officials said.

“We are starting to see big dividends from our work together,” Superintendent Dennis Friedrich said.

Tenino High

The Tenino School District’s lone high school saw its 10th-grade reading WASL scores increase by almost 40 points in the past six years, and its 10th-grade math WASL scores increased by more than 20 points in that time.

Principal Jeff Johnson said school staff members have worked hard to create a climate in which teachers, students and parents all have worked toward improving student achievement. Teacher training and hiring writing coaches also have translated into big gains, he said, though there’s still work ahead.

“We’re back in the locker room now at halftime knowing we did a good job in the first half,” Johnson said. “Now, we need to come back and do it again.”

Heather Woodward covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-4225 or hwoodward@theolympian.com.

—–

To see more of The Olympian, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.theolympian.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.