| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 3:02 am |
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Local News 
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School districts build WASL suspense Some wait until September to let kids and their parents know how they did on last spring’s exams. State spring test results can be as elusive as the young man in the ski cap, red and white striped shirt and thick glasses in a thick crowd of people.The question for some families these days isn’t “Where’s Waldo?” but “Where’s WASL?” School districts release the results from the Washington Assessment of Student Instruction at different times in late August and through September. In some districts, parents could find their children’s scores on their online accounts two weeks ago, while in other districts the results will be coming home in backpacks, through the mail or hand-delivered at a school open house. “It’s really in the hands of the local districts” said Chris Barron, a spokesman for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Some districts, such as Marysville and Mukilteo, have posted individual student results online and are getting ready to send home reports over the next two weeks. In Lake Stevens, the plan is for scores to be mailed or delivered home with students by the end of this week. Granite Falls will hand them out at elementary and middle school open houses between Sept. 17 and 30 with high school results mailed out this week. Snohomish sent WASL reports to its schools last week, and each school will have a two-week window to provide them to parents. The biggest challenge is that results for students making the transition from elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school must be transferred to their new campus, said J. Marie Riche, a Snohomish schools spokeswoman. “We have a very limited staff to accomplish that,” she said. While Mukilteo posted results online Sept. 2, it took more time to send out paper copies, which break down the results into greater detail. Elementary schools planned to send them home with students late last week while middle and high schools will distribute them at open houses and then mail the reports that are not picked up. That will save money, said Andy Muntz, a school district spokesman. It would have cost $3,500 in postage to send them all out. In the Edmonds district, middle and high schools results are expected to be posted online on the Skyward Family Access site early this week, and schools are expected to get the written scores into parents’ hands no later than Sept. 25, said Jennifer Piplic, a school district spokeswoman. Getting the results to the school that students have moved to is one hurdle, Piplic said. “Another challenge is organizing all the materials that need to go to parents, which include not only the score report, but also a letter from our superintendent, congratulatory letters from the governor and the state superintendent and separate reports for students who took assessment alternatives for special education students,” she said. Everett posted its WASL scores online for parents to review last Wednesday. Parents of elementary and middle school school students can pick up the written reports on back-to-school nights and at open houses. Parents of high school students will have to call 425-385-4055 if they want to request a copy of their students’ results. “If they call, they get a copy,” said Mary Waggoner, a school district spokeswoman. “Like everyone else we are trying to save money.” New state exams will replace the WASL next year but results won’t get into the hands of students and parents any time sooner, Barron said. The Measurement of Students’ Progress, which will be given to students in grades three through eight, will be given in May and June, which is later than when students took the WASL. “We moved them to later in the year because they are more of an end-of-the-year test,” Barron said. The High School Proficiency Exam will be the state’s high school exit exam. Results will continue to be ready by June. Cathy Anderegg, Lakewood’s executive director of instructional programs, said parents need to keep WASL results in context with classroom grades, homework assignments and other indicators of students’ academic work. “This is just a piece of a large puzzle,” she said. Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com. |
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(10) - State Senate votes to toss I-960's tax-raising hurdle (9)
- School levies in Snohomish County all passing, Marysville bond failing (6)
- A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood (4)
- Vote on school levies by Tuesday (3)
- Two suspects sought in Everett shooting that injured two (3)
- County archive software paid for but waiting for set-up (3)
- Former Whidbey student shot (2)
- Snohomish County's bargain housing won't last (2)
- Reader poll: Should the WIAA add lacrosse as a sanctioned sport? (2)
- Jackson girls outlast Meadowdale owdale
- OBT raises barre in children’s program
- Junior firefighters
- School levies passing
- Mavericks topple Wolfpack
- Get a second look at Second City Feb. 13
- Sports Briefs
- Warriors advance 11 to regional meet
- Arlington's Cascade Valley Hospital celebrates expansion, national award and 100 years of service
- Business Licences Feb. 2010
- Technology tips for launching your own business
- Business Events Feb. 2010
- Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site
- State already raising fees and rates that restrict business growth
- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
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