They had the credits. They completed their senior projects. They passed the reading and writing sections of the WASL or a state-approved alternative.
They still couldn’t graduate.
A few Snohomish County seniors didn’t receive their diplomas this spring because they failed to meet the state’s new math standards.
It’s a WASL ripple effect.
Billed as an easy alternative for students who failed the 10th grade WASL, the new requirements call for students in the class of 2008 to pass a math course and attempt the math WASL or an alternative as seniors.
Students can also meet the requirement by passing the math WASL — a feat that 72 percent of this year’s seniors have accomplished.
School districts throughout the county are scrambling to help students meet the new standards.
One student at Monroe High School and two at Mountlake Terrace High School didn’t receive their diplomas because they failed to meet the standard.
The Mountlake Terrace students passed their required math courses but didn’t attempt the WASL as seniors, spokeswoman Debbie Jakala said. They were allowed to participate in the school’s graduation ceremony but won’t receive their diplomas unless they attempt the WASL during a statewide retake in August.
On Friday afternoon, counselors at other high schools in the Edmonds School District were still working with students to help them meet the math requirement, Jakala said. It was unclear if math would keep any of those students from receiving diplomas this weekend.
A Monroe High School senior didn’t graduate because of a failing grade in a senior math course that emphasizes geometry and algebra basics. The course is new this year and was specially designed to help kids who failed to meet the WASL math requirement. That student has enrolled in an online math course and hopes to graduate this summer, spokeswoman Rosemary O’Neil said.
“The change in graduation requirements did really require more secretarial time, more counselor time, more communication with parents and students,” said Fran Mester, assistant superintendent of the Monroe School District. “We created a database where we put every single graduation requirement from the WASL reading, writing and math. We tracked first, second and third attempts.”
There was “possibly one” student in the Mukilteo School District who might not have graduated on time because of the math requirement, spokesman Andy Muntz said.
“There were a couple of kids that might have been teetering on the brink,” Muntz said.
In the last few months, counselors and administrators at schools throughout the county have raced to help seniors meet the requirements. Students who failed traditional math courses were enrolled in online or technical classes. A student in Monroe met the requirement by taking an online math class in Spanish through the Mexican Consulate.
After several Marysville students didn’t show up to take the WASL in April, counselors rushed to enroll them for upcoming SAT and ACT tests, which the state accepts as an alternative to the WASL. Those students were allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies but won’t receive their diplomas until the College Board issues their test scores. Students don’t need to do well on the tests to meet the requirement, but the district needs proof that they attempted the test before handing over their diplomas, said Ray Houser, executive director of teaching and learning.
“The positive out of this is it really forces us to look at how we monitor kids and what we know about them as far as graduation requirements,” he said.
The Snohomish School District also had a few students barely meet the math requirement, said spokeswoman J.Marie Riche.
“We had a few students where it was up until the last minute,” she said.
The WASL math issue isn’t just a concern for this year’s seniors.
The Everett School District discovered that some juniors who had failed the math WASL as sophomores did not attempt the exam again this spring.
As a result, the district is urging them to try again during an August retake so there will be a record they attempted the exam their junior year.
Otherwise, they could be in jeopardy of not graduating if they don’t pass the WASL in their senior year.
In order to earn their diplomas, members of the class of 2009 need to pass the math WASL or to take two math courses after their sophomore year and attempt the WASL or an alternative annually.
Beginning in 2013, seniors must pass the math portion of the WASL to graduate.
No one knows how many seniors statewide didn’t graduate because of the new math requirements. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction plans to gather data on the issue but doesn’t expect to have much until late fall, spokesman Nathan Olson said.
The new requirements are challenging educators to think beyond calculus and algebra and come up with alternatives to traditional math courses, said Mester. They’re also forcing schools to address a cultural fear of math, she said.
“It’s very easy in our culture to say, ‘It’s OK to be bad at math,’” she said. “As adults, we say, ‘Oh, geez. I was never good at math.’ It’s very different to say, ‘I can’t read.’ You would hide that. … It’s a long journey.”
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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