Their confidence buoyed after intense instruction this summer, hundreds of Snohomish County high school students are hoping to put the WASL behind them once and for all this week.
They are among thousands of students statewide who are retaking portions of the 10th grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning they failed in the spring.
The WASL includes reading, writing and math exams students must pass to graduate.
Rachel Carey, an Arlington High School junior with a 3.5 grade point average, is eager to finish up after narrowly missing the mark in math.
“I passed my math class with a B-plus, and I’m in summer school,” she said. “It makes me mad.”
Nevertheless, she said she has learned a lot, feels well prepared for the exam and figures the extra instruction will help her in math class next year.
Classmate Ruslan Bizyayeu, 16, who emigrated from Russia seven years ago, will retake the reading and math portions of the test. He has had two hours a day of instruction in both subjects.
The small class sizes and detailed explanations of what is expected on the WASL help a lot, he said.
“They don’t do some of this at the regular high school,” he said. “They should. They should help students understand what’s expected of them better.”
More than 1,000 Snohomish County students registered for retakes this week. Others will wait for the spring. Students can take the test up to four times in each subject through their senior year in order to pass it.
Math is the most requested exam for retakes, reflecting the subject with the highest failure rate in the spring. Countywide, more than three-quarters of about 1,000 students attending WASL-based summer schools brushed up on their math skills.
Mariner High School junior Jose Gomez, 17, said he didn’t mind coming to school for four hours a day of math instruction this summer.
He believes he needed it. The instructional approach seems slower but more in depth to him and much of the work is hands-on with an emphasis on charting data on graphs.
“This helps me understand the formulas, how to find volume, figure out slopes and everything,” he said.
Diana Howe, a Kamiak High School math teacher, taught Gomez and more than a dozen other Kamiak and Mariner students this summer.
Most were invited because they were close to passing the math exam in the spring and they are motivated to learn.
There was no homework, and students earned half an academic credit if their attendance was good.
“This is not your traditional math class,” she said. “They want to be here. It’s no big deal. It’s not stressful.”
Lake Stevens High School students who took a WASL math class this summer said they feel better prepared this time around.
“I’m glad that I took the class, even though I had to get up in the morning,” said Alona Personius, 16. “I was really nervous (last spring), but I’m not anymore.”
Tristan Nance, 16, was scoring well on practice WASL exams in the class. “So I feel I’m going into it with the knowledge I need to succeed,” he said.
Much of the summer class was review, though Connor Holmstead said he also learned some new math concepts along the way – such as stem-and-leaf plots, which are used to show distribution of data.
“I got all my work from the class and I’m trying to study,” the 16-year-old said. “The last time I took the WASL I just got sort of lazy. I’m going to try to stay focused.”
Other teenagers will be winging it when they arrive for testing.
Janey Wahl, 16, was shocked by her WASL scores from the spring and learned she had failed the math test. She’s been in advanced math classes since middle school.
Frustrated, she and her family opted not to devote two weeks to a review class at Granite Falls High School. Her mother plans to request her daughter’s spring test booklet to see if it offers any clues for why Janey’s score fell short.
In the meantime, Janey will take a day off work Tuesday to try again.
“I’m not nervous at all,” Janey said. “I’m just frustrated that I have to go. I wish I didn’t have to take a day of my summer. … I just want to graduate.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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