About one in four Snohomish County high school sophomores likely won’t be ready for state math tests next spring, if course schedules are any indication.
Sophomores are generally expected to take geometry, considered key to passing the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning math test.
But nearly 2,200 of the 8,200 sophomores across the county, including Bothell, are in classes focused on lower skills, such as introductory algebra. (Stanwood-Camano School District is not included because its current numbers were not available.)
Edmonds-Woodway High School Principal Alan Weiss worries about students who are behind as they come in the door.
“We have to take them where they are,” he said. “That’s the problem when you are Custer’s last stand. You are their last hope.
“What we are hoping to do is pull them up by the bootstraps and fill in a lot of blanks.”
Throughout the county, 73 percent are in classes that include geometry or higher-level courses, such as calculus. Still, that’s unlikely to translate into equally high passing rates on the WASL.
Statewide, just 51 percent of sophomores passed the 2006 math test on the first try.
On Monday, Gov. Chris Gregoire and state Superintendent Terry Bergeson said they would ask the Legislature to delay the WASL math requirement to 2011, saying the school system has not adequately prepared thousands of teenagers.
Students graduating in 2008, 2009 and 2010 who are unable to pass the test could meet the requirement by taking math classes through their senior year.
In the meantime, the state is taking a close look at how it teaches math.
The state Board of Education this week took public comments about a statewide plan to improve math achievement. One proposal would require students to take and pass geometry.
Educators agree geometry is key to passing the WASL.
At Stanwood High School last year, 62 percent of students in a geometry class passed the math WASL, compared with just 8 percent of those in algebra.
“We used to talk about algebra being the gatekeeper,” said Terry Edwards, curriculum and assessment director for the Everett School District. “Algebra is not enough for this test. … If a kid has not completed geometry, they have about an 80 percent chance of not passing the WASL.”
Just because students are in a geometry class doesn’t mean they are mastering the skills.
A look at past test scores at Lake Stevens High School also shows some students are forgetting algebra lessons from their freshman year, said Arlene Hulten, a district spokeswoman.
Lake Stevens High School geometry teachers now will include an algebra refresher close to WASL time.
In the Arlington School District, 95 percent of sophomores a year ahead in math passed last spring’s WASL, compared with 59 percent who were at grade level and 14 percent who were a year behind.
“Obviously, there is not a simple fix to it,” said Warren Hopkins, Arlington’s deputy superintendent.
Hopkins points to encouraging signs based on the results of a monthlong summer school class that helped teenagers who failed the spring math test prepare for the August retake. Half of the 39 students passed the second time, while 11 were just points shy.
Schools also note that they are making changes in earlier grades, such as middle school, that should pay off as those students reach 10th grade.
A Marysville School District report concludes that schools must improve teaching materials, instruction, and learning standards and expectations.
“We believe the three areas need to all be worked on simultaneously for significant change,” the report said.
For students who are the furthest behind in the math skills needed to pass, there is no quick fix, said Fran Mester, assistant superintendent in the Monroe School District.
Monroe High School is giving struggling students extra help – though they likely will have to retake the exam, perhaps multiple times.
What’s important is that they are learning math as they go along, Mester said.
“Our agenda is to lock their math skills in really well and not try to jump-start them and still leave gaps and holes in skills behind,” she said.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@ heraldnet.com.
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