House, Senate OK WASL options

House, Senate OK WASL options

By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times staff reporter

It appears likely that high-school students who fail the state's standardized test will soon have other ways they can graduate from high school.

The state Senate passed Senate Bill 6475 by a 33-10 vote Friday. It would set up alternative routes to graduation for some students, such as putting together a portfolio of work. The House passed a similar measure late Thursday.

Lawmakers in the two chambers are expected to resolve the differences between the two bills.

Democratic leaders say the legislation is basically a fallback solution until the matter can be studied in more detail.

"It's just the beginning, really," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. "We're floundering around probably just as much as the kids are."

A flurry of bills were introduced this year dealing with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) because this year's 10th-grade class is the first required by state law to pass the test to graduate by 2008.

Groups that support keeping the test as the main graduation requirement argue that students need the skills the WASL measures to succeed in today's economy.

Critics say no single test should determine if a student graduates from high school and argue students who have trouble passing the test would become demoralized.

The Legislature has tried to keep both camps happy by passing the legislation that sets up alternative routes to graduation, but only after students fail to pass the WASL twice.

And both the House and Senate passed bills ordering a state study of additional alternative assessments. An initial report is due Dec. 1, 2006, and a final report Dec. 1, 2007.

The approach has worked to a certain extent. The Washington Roundtable, a business group that has fought to keep the WASL as the top graduation requirement, is OK with both approaches.

The Washington Education Association (WEA) doesn't support SB 6475, or the House version, House Bill 2785, setting up alternatives.

"We know going into it that the WASL is not an appropriate assessment for some students, so to require them to take it is poor professional practice," said Charles Hasse, president of the WEA, the state's largest teachers union.

His group contends that grade-point average should count more than the WASL in deciding whether a student should graduate.

However, Hasse said the WEA does support legislation requiring more study and expects that eventually lawmakers will remove the WASL as the main graduation requirement.

The House and Senate bills set up at least two ways for students to graduate if they fail the WASL. One approach would compare their classroom grades to those of other students who passed the WASL.

Under the Senate bill, for example, if a student were to fail the math portion of the WASL but was doing equal to or better in math than classmates who passed the WASL, he or she would be given a pass on that portion of the test.

The second approach would let students put together a portfolio of work to satisfy their graduation requirement.

The House and Senate bills differ in several ways. For example, the House version requires that students have 95 percent attendance at school in order to take an alternative route. The Senate version contains no such requirement.

The bills also differ over who would be allowed to go the portfolio route. The House version limits that option to students in small schools or approved career and technical programs. The Senate bill does not have a restriction.

The House bill also would let students substitute a failing math score with a good performance on the math section of another standardized test, such as the SAT. The Senate bill doesn't provide that option.

And the Senate version allows students who don't meet the graduation requirements needed to obtain a regular diploma to get a "certificate of academic progress" and participate in graduation ceremonies. The House bill does not have that provision.

Andrew Garber: 360-943-9882 or agarber@seattletimes.com