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Failing on WASL Not the End, House Says: 4 Alternatives to Test Advance to Senate

Posted on: Saturday, 4 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Brad Shannon, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Mar. 4--An amended bill giving the state's 10th-graders four alternative ways to pass the high-stakes Washington Assessment of Student Learning swept easily to passage in the House on Friday.

The compromise allows students who fail twice on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning to earn a certificate of academic achievement at graduation if they can show a strong school portfolio, have certain grades or meet one of the other new criteria. At present, high school students must pass the 10th-grade WASL to graduate.

Senate negotiators said they expect to pass the bill as soon as today, sending it to the governor for signing. That will bring to a close one of the session's contentious issues, which saw former Gov. Booth Gardner in opposition to state schools chief Terry Bergeson and Gov. Chris Gregoire over whether to require the WASL for graduation.

Despite the 96-2 vote in favor of the compromise bill, Enhanced Substitute Senate Bill 6475, opponents were vocal.

"I am not going to support anything that keeps the WASL alive and fails our children," said Rep. Jim Clements, R-Selah. "What the alternative fails to address is you have to fail first."

But House Education Committee Chairman Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, said the bill should smooth the fears of parents and students, who worry that the tests -- which half of students in some districts fail -- will keep the students from graduating. The tests begin this month and results are due June 10, allowing retakes in August and use of alternatives after that, Quall said.

A separate proposal is in the works in the state's supplemental operating budget that would funnel $38.5 million into remedial aid to students who learn in June they have failed. Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, who supports the compromise, said it appears that budget writers will provide that money and drop a Senate alternative that would have shifted some of the funds into a planning day for teachers.

Even with the compromise, Quall said, the debate over WASL is not over. A separate measure, Senate Bill 6618, calls for collecting data to see why students are failing and will help adjust state efforts to help students pass, McAuliffe said.

Many lawmakers said the wrangling over alternatives has led to a good end. "The end product is I believe really good for kids," said Rep. Gigi Talcott, R-Lakewood.

The alternatives include:

-- Comparing a student's grade point average to others who pass the WASL.

-- Using a collection of work samples that meet criteria developed by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and approved by the state Board of Education.

-- Earning a rigorous, nationally-recognized certificate in a career or technical field,

-- Or hitting a certain math score on the SAT, PSAT or ACT college entrance exams; the state board would set that score.

Other critics of WASL included Democratic Rep. William "Ike" Eickmeyer of Belfair, who initially voted against the bill then voted for it when the tally had to be repeated.

Eickmeyer cited comments from the Yakima School District superintendent at the House Democratic Caucus a day before. The superintendent warned that half of his students would fail the WASL, Eickmeyer said, warning that a student will be stamped by his or her success or failure.

"Like a product coming off the line, we're going to hit it on the forehead with 'reject.' If they fail again, we'll hit it again," Eickmeyer said, adding that the WASL should be used to judge the success of the system, not the student.

But Rep. Ross Hunter, D-¬Medina, said 98.5 percent of students in Massachusetts, which also has a remedial system in place to help its students pass a high-stakes graduation test, pass the test. The alternatives, he said, are "pretty reasonable, fair to the kids and rigorous."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

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Source: The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

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