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Kids Brace for WASL Boot Camp This Summer

Posted on: Saturday, 17 June 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Tara M. Manthey and Debby Abe, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.

Jun. 17--Treia Ingram was distraught all week about failing the WASL math test.

She broke into tears Thursday night as her mother, Tracy, went to her high school to hear about summer school options.

"She feels like she's losing her summer to math," Tracy Ingram said.

Treia, a sophomore at Puyallup High School, will spend four hours a day in July working on math instead of volunteering for the Red Cross.

Her mother said she gets good grades in algebra, but hasn't taken geometry yet and needs to tackle it to pass the WASL.

After rescheduling vacations and rearranging summer job schedules, many Washington sophomores will join Treia this summer.

Schools are frantically trying to make arrangements for and convince nearly half the class of 2008 to take summer math classes before sitting for WASL retakes in early August.

The offer comes just days after sophomores learned whether they passed the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. It's required for graduation in 2008.

QUICK TURNAROUND

The state released the results of 84,000 sophomores' tests on individualized, preprinted letters to school districts in early June. Most districts turned the scores around within days. Many sorted results into categories to include appropriate congratulatory letters or information about WASL summer school.

"It was more complicated than just sticking the results into an envelope," said Linda Dugger, whose Bethel School District office sent out nearly 1,200 notifications in a day and a half.

Sumner School District staff compared school rosters to the scores to be sure all students got their results.

Most schools reported that the mailings went smoothly and there were only a few glitches.

Fife's math scores were delayed because of a shipping error, said Suzanne Shade, director of teaching and learning. The district sent the other scores to families while the math tests were being graded this week. Her office is prepared to share scores with students as soon as the district gets them, possibly by early next week.

"We'll call every family to let them know verbally so they are not hanging anymore," Shade said.

Test results of students who've never attended Franklin Pierce schools were sent to that district, said assistant superintendent Frank Hewins.

Districts also had to weed out double reports, which can happen if a student filled out his or her identification incorrectly in one of the three subject's booklets. Then there are issues of students who've switched districts after the test.

That was all anticipated by the state schools superintendent's office, said Joe Willhoft, state director of assessment. He expected more than 10,000 "unresolved" test booklets: those with wrong names or reports missing scores in one or more subjects. After districts sort through scores this summer, the state will have a better idea how many students passed the WASL.

REACHING OUT

After the flurry of mailings and meetings, administrators can only wait to see if students show up for summer school.

Districts have set up tiers of classes, ranging from refresher sessions to intensive monthlong courses. While all the classes are optional, educators are asking students to take them.

There's a sense of urgency because educators don't want sophomores to be tied up in WASL classes during the normal school year.

"We want them to be able to have that true high school experience," said Bethel's Linda Dugger. "And getting them over this hump would help them not have to worry about being behind."

In University Place, Curtis High School is inviting only students who barely missed passing math and reading to its four-week "WASL academy."

The district is using the state-developed WASL summer school curriculum, said Andrew Eyres, Curtis assistant principal.

Students in the "far miss" category need more intensive instruction than can be provided in a four-week summer program, he said. This fall, those students can take Curtis's new "math lab" class along with their regular math course and an after-school math tutorial.

HOLDING PATTERN

Some teachers are on standby until summer school registration ends, not knowing whether to schedule summer plans or take training classes to teach the special remedial classes.

"If you didn't know you intended to be teaching this summer, you probably didn't have this training," said Suzanne Shade of the Fife School District.

In Orting, assessment coordinator Liz Stagner said she didn't know how many teachers to hire for the summer because the demand for classes is unknown.

"This first year you don't know," she said.

Already, 60 students have signed up for Clover Park's "Learning Academy," but the program has room for 120.

Tacoma has been preparing to serve up to 1,600 of its 2,460 sophomores in its WASL summer programs to be offered in two three-week sessions, said George Holmgren, assistant superintendent for high schools.

But based on preliminary test results, Holmgren thinks fewer students will need to attend the summer program. Though just 37 percent of sophomores passed the math portion of the WASL according to tests scored so far, more than three-quarters passed reading and writing. Now, he said, "we're confident any number of kids who want to go through WASL prep will get it."

COVERING THE COSTS

The state is helping cover the costs of WASL remediation.

Districts will get about $120 for each student with a "near miss" score -- a score within the statistical margin of error. Students below that, or "far miss," will each draw about $330 for their district. That's per subject, so a student who got a "far miss" in math, reading and writing will bring the district nearly $1,000 to cover remediation costs.

For comparison, the average per-student allocation to districts for a normal school year is $5,470.

The money can be spent on remediation for the next 15 months. Districts must report how they used it and return money for students who didn't take advantage of WASL classes.

Districts want students to sign up early.

Puyallup parents attended meetings last week to hear about the three levels of classes it will offer this summer.

"This has been a nightmare to plan, frankly, but we want to give students as many opportunities as possible," assistant superintendent Dick Cvitanich told parents.

"We're trying to plan a summer school for kids when we don't know if they'll be there."

Tara M. Manthey: 253-597-8646

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694

debby.abe@thenewstribune.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The News Tribune

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