State won't postpone math, science WASL

By Lynn Thompson
Times Snohomish County Bureau

The head of the state's public schools won't recommend a delay of WASL math and science high-school graduation requirements despite a growing clamor from some education groups and legislators to give schools and students more time.

The failure of 49 percent of 10th-graders to pass the math section of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning last spring touched off widespread alarm. Those students, in the class of 2008, are the first who must pass math, reading and writing on the test to earn a high-school diploma. Passing the science portion of the test becomes a requirement in 2010.

In the past few weeks, the state PTA and an organization of school-board members have voted to push back the math requirement by three years and science by four.

But rather than delay the math and science requirements, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said she'll ask the Legislature for an additional $199 million for the coming biennium to help this year's juniors pass the math, reading and writing portions of the WASL.

She said the money would be used to add teacher training, refocus the state's math curriculum and add math and science teaching coaches to middle and high schools.

Bergeson said math and science are crucial skills for students and important to the state's long-term competitiveness and economic growth.

"To delay math and science will slow down progress in two areas our future depends on," she said.

Gov. Christine Gregoire has also opposed delaying the WASL standards.

Mary Kenfield, governmental-affairs liaison for the Washington State PTA, said delegates to its annual legislative assembly in Yakima last weekend argued that schools "just aren't ready."

"If a child doesn't even have a math book to take home, can we really expect them to meet the standards?" she asked.

Members of the Washington State School Directors' Association, at their legislative assembly in September, agreed that while instruction and classroom materials have been strengthened in reading and writing, that hasn't happened to the same extent in math.

"We're strong in support of standards. We support having an exit exam, but the majority felt it would be better to phase in math and science," said David Brine, communications director for the association.

Almost half of the state's 10th-graders failed the math portion of the WASL in the spring. The numbers were worse for minority students, with just 23 percent of African Americans and 25 percent of Hispanics meeting standards.

Science scores also were low, with just 35 percent of sophomores passing. While reading scores have climbed about 22 percentage points over the past three years as schools focused on literacy, science scores have gained just three points.

The State Board of Education meets Friday to develop short-term and long-term strategies to raise math achievement. The board, in conjunction with Bergeson's office and the Professional Educator Standards Board, which oversees teacher credentials, hopes to draft a math action plan to present to the governor in November.

If the approach works, the groups plan to tackle science next year, said Mary Jean Ryan, chairwoman of the State Board of Education.

In recommending that the state go forward with the math and science requirements, Bergeson has the support of many business leaders and some advocates for minority students. The Washington Roundtable, a coalition of the state's largest employers, opposes any delay in implementing the graduation requirements.

Marc Frazer, executive director of the Washington Roundtable, said by many measures the state is not doing well in math education. Almost half of state students who go on to college need remediation to prepare for college-level math. The state now requires only two years of high-school math for graduation and doesn't specify the content for those classes. And the math skills required on the 10th-grade WASL aren't as demanding as those required for graduation in other countries.

Frazer said the state needs to develop an overall strategy for improving math in addition to retaining the WASL requirement.

"It would be easy to say let's delay, but that would accomplish nothing," he said.

James Kelly, president of the Seattle Urban League, said the issue isn't the WASL graduation requirements, but helping students meet them. He said few students have taken advantage of tutoring and support classes that schools and other agencies must provide to struggling students. And he said the 2008 deadline was set by the state in 1993.

"They've had 15 years to prepare for this. Now is not the time to back off," Kelly said.

Math teachers fear that easing the graduation requirements will cause students to ease off in their work. JoAnne Robinson, a former Everett teacher and president of the Washington State Mathematics Council, said students in the years leading up to the 2008 deadline haven't taken the test seriously.

Students whose graduation isn't yet on the line have trouble applying themselves, said Bev McNair, chairwoman of the math department at Edmonds-Woodway High School. Like many schools around the state, hers is offering double periods of math for struggling students. But she said the school hasn't been successful in enrolling many freshmen and sophomores because they don't feel any urgency.

"Juniors and seniors are buying in. They want to graduate," she said.

State legislators are divided on the issue. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, chairwoman of the senate's education committee, said delaying math and science requirements "isn't the answer."

"If we don't keep the pressure on, there'll be no incentive to provide the dollars to help kids learn," she said.

Last year, the Legislature approved $28.5 million to add support classes and other help for students who had failed parts of the test. The money was allocated based on student need, with schools receiving more to help those who fell far short of the standards and less for those who came close to passing.

Some students retook the math test in August after special summer-school courses based on a new math curriculum developed by the state. Those retake scores — and the success of the new approach — won't be available for a few weeks. Students are allowed up to four retakes. After two failures, they still may prove their competency through alternative measures.

Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Mill Creek and the ranking minority member of the education committee, said it makes sense to delay the science requirement while the state strategizes about how to raise math achievement.

But Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, said punishing the approximately 36,496 students who failed the 10th-grade math WASL by withholding their diplomas in June 2008 is "absolutely unfair."

"Students shouldn't be denied a diploma because the system hasn't adequately prepared them," she said.