OLYMPIA — State lawmakers and Gov. Chris Gregoire are phasing out the Washington Assessment of Student Learning’s math section as a high school graduation requirement, replacing it with tests on individual math courses in 2014.
On Wednesday, majority Democrats released their final state budget, unveiling $3.2 million to develop the individual course tests that would replace the math WASL as a graduation requirement in six years.
The high school class of 2013 remains the first group of students that must pass a math test to graduate. But the state will now give those students the option of passing either the WASL or individual course exams. In 2014, the math WASL would be jettisoned.
The best way to teach and test math has been a source of debate in Olympia in recent years. Last year, the option of testing students based on the course, such as algebra or geometry, instead of a comprehensive test was vetoed by Gregoire, who favored studying the issue first.
The governor now supports the change to “end-of-course” tests, after proponents worked closely with her. Gregoire said, however, that it’s crucial the 2013 deadline for a math-proficiency graduation requirement not be moved, despite the transition to a new testing method.
“I’ve always been supportive of end-of-course. But I am not willing to delay the math graduation requirement,” Gregoire said Wednesday.
The state will create a study group to examine how other states dealt with “end-of-course” tests before a pilot program is launched in 2013, said Senate Education Chairwoman Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell.
That allows for “teaching and learning to be more aligned with the tests,” McAuliffe said. She added the problem with the current comprehensive math WASL is coordination with the state’s 296 school districts.
McAuliffe said one problem was that students were not being taught some of the math skills assessed in the WASL test.
Last year, just 50.4 percent of 10th graders who took the math section of the WASL passed, while 80.8 percent passed reading, and 83.9 percent passed writing, according to the state’s school superintendent.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson will accept the changes because course-centered tests align better with the new math standards the state is currently developing, spokesman Nathan Olson said.
Steve Mullin, president of the Washington Roundtable, said the business group supports a move away from the math WASL as long as learning standards aren’t watered down in the process.
“We’ve basically received a lot of assurances that while this was a different method, the rigor would be the same or perhaps higher,” Mullin said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
