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Skills, not scores, at stake with WASL

By Terry Bergeson, Superintendent of Public Instruction

The Washington Assessment of Student Learning or “WASL” is making a lot of headlines lately. Given each spring to fourth-, seventh- and tenth- graders, the WASL measures student learning in reading, writing, listening and mathematics. In 2008, all graduating seniors must pass the WASL in order to graduate from high school. This is a big reason so many people have “WASL” on their minds.

Our state is at a critical juncture with education reform. What should be a discussion about student skills has narrowed to a focus on test scores. To help get our perspective back, we should revisit how we got here in the first place.

The WASL and the academic standards it measures are the direct result of work done by state legislators, teachers, business and community leaders nearly ten years ago.

Washingtonians decided young people needed stronger knowledge and skills if they were to be successful citizens of the 21st century. Businesses were turning away job candidates who could not accurately complete employment applications. Colleges, universities and technical schools were spending too much time teaching students skills they should have already mastered. In the end, students were not being prepared to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

To address this problem, Washington state established clear standards – the Essential Academic Learning Requirements – that all students should know and be able to do by graduation. Schools, in turn, were asked to align their curriculum with the new standards and help teachers get the necessary resources to do so. Student progress toward the standards would be measured by the WASL as well as other classroom-based tests. However, the WASL alone has captured the headlines.

The WASL is just one test of student knowledge and skills. But the growing perception among parents, teachers, administrators and the general public is that it is the only acceptable evidence of a child’s educational experience. This could not be further from the truth.

Ironically, people love the standards, but hate the test that measures student achievement of these standards. This creates a paradox that we must resolve in order to improve student learning.

I think we cheat our children if we don’t give them the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and get feedback from an objective test. We are also providing students additional ways to demonstrate skills through in-depth projects of their choice. This is another new graduation requirement in 2008.

It’s true: The WASL does demand more of our students. And according to most people – including Washington state teachers, parents and students – this is a good thing. As a result, more students are meeting our higher expectations. Interestingly enough, some of the greatest gains are being made in schools that face the greatest economic and societal challenges.
Education reform has created a dramatic shift from where we were just ten years ago, and it’s reflected in the greater overall learning and achievement of our students.

Any change of this magnitude, however, creates new problems and issues to resolve. I will be the first to admit the state must do a better job of “de-mystifying” the WASL. The ten year anniversary of education reform, coupled with the new federal education law, gives us an important opportunity for mid-course corrections where needed.

I assure you that I will help lead debates and constructive changes to the system when the WASL moves from a measure of system accountability to student accountability. That’s why we’ve started early – so we can work out many of our differences on the way to that milestone.

We are taking important steps to improve understanding of the assessment within schools. Teachers, for example, need more information and training to better understand the test and the meaning of the scores. To address this problem, I released 40 percent of the 2001 WASL test questions last fall, including all writing questions, and will continue to do so in the future. My office is also expanding the role teachers play in the development and scoring of the WASL.

Approximately 200 teachers will score portions of the seventh grade mathematics test this summer, as well as portions of the fourth, seventh and tenth grade writing. These teachers will have the opportunity to become leaders in regional groups of their peers. They will share their new knowledge in their schools and districts and help us improve both the WASL and use of test results.

Other issues concerning the WASL must be addressed in the coming months, including the graduation requirements. “Cramming” and “drill-and-kill” test prep will not work on the WASL. Schools that are making gains collaborate across grade levels, focus on strategic learning and incorporate the state academic standards into all aspects of the curriculum. I see this reflected in every improving school I visit. Terminal Park Elementary in Auburn calls this approach “love and logic,” meaning they create caring learning environments with focused, intentional teaching.

Some argue teachers are “teaching to the test,” to the detriment of student learning. I would suggest that teaching to our standards is the issue, and it should be happening everywhere. Keep in mind that before 1993, there were no statewide standards for learning in our schools. With the WASL, all children are tested against the same standards statewide.

In short, we need to change our thinking about testing in general. When the WASL is too stressful for kids, it’s because they get a message that their scores reflect their value as people. This defeats the intention of education reform. Good assessment is integral to good teaching and student learning. Without it, thousands of children will fall through the cracks, failing to realize their personal dreams and make their contribution as citizens in a free society.

(Dr. Bergeson is the 14th state superintendent of public instruction. She is currently serving her second consecutive term of office.).

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