The state will release WASL scores for individual schools today, but parents shouldn’t expect to see their children’s results for several days or even weeks.
Traffic promises to be heavy on the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Web site late this morning when results for schools and districts from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning are scheduled for release.
Last year, the site logged 500,000 hits on release day. That’s the equivalent of one search for every 13 residents across the state.
The state is expecting even higher volumes today and during the next week, said Joe Egan, director of information technology services for the state’s education department.
“The number has been going up every year,” he said.
When parents will get to see their children’s results will depend on the district where they live.
The Edmonds School District, for instance, plans to mail scores early next week.
Interest in WASL results is becoming more intense as the stakes get higher.
Passing WASL reading, writing and math exams is a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2008, and schools are being held accountable for low scores under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
This year, the federal law required more grades – third, fifth, sixth and eighth – to give reading and math exams that have traditionally been taken in fourth, seventh and 10th grades.
Thousands of ninth-graders voluntarily took the 10th-grade WASL a year early to try to get it over with.
High school students only need to pass it once to be eligible to graduate.
Tenth-grade scores were mailed in June to allow students to get summer school help and choose fall classes.
The Edmonds School District, when it mails children’s scores next week, will include a letter from Superintendent Nick Brossoit, who will encourage parents to talk with their children about the results and to assure them they can get extra help if needed.
The Mukilteo School District expects it will take at least a week to get results home. It will distribute individual student scores to the schools to send home.
The Everett School District doesn’t expect to mail results until the end of the month.
The state Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Office set a Sept. 22 date for providing results to parents.
However, “it’s not a legislative or legal deadline,” said Jill Severn, a spokeswoman for the state superintendent. “It was just sort of a self-imposed target date.”
Everett and other districts received WASL results later than in past years because of the increased volume.
The district needs more time to double-check the accuracy of the scores, said Mary Waggoner, a district spokeswoman. It also wants to include individual student learning plans with the results. Packaging the scores and plans together will save on postage costs, she said.
“I think parents will have a better picture by the end of the month instead of if they get it in pieces over time,” Waggoner said.
If parents don’t want to wait, they can go to the district office, 4730 Colby Ave., to review their child’s scores. As a security precaution, they will need to provide picture identification.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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