Snohomish County schools saw mixed results in the annual WASL exams released today for reading, writing, math and science, mirroring a statewide trend.

The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction posted this morning results from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams taken last spring.

The education office also released lists of schools that failed to meet goals under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Under the federal rules, schools and districts are judged not just on their overall reading and math test scores from the WASL, but on how students in individual categories perform as well. Those categories include special education, low-income and a breakdown of students based on race.

State schools Superintendent Randy Dorn said the federal education law needs changing.

Nearly double the state’s schools from last year were listed in the federal program as needing improvement despite state testing scores remaining nearly the same as 2008.

Scores in grades 3-8 and 10 mirrored 2008 results, increasing in seven subject areas, decreasing in seven and remaining unchanged in six.

Yet, the accountability arm of the federal No Child Left Behind Act showed that 1,073 schools need improvement, up from 618 last year.

“Our state testing scores are flat, yet the federal system shows an additional 500 schools are failing,” Dorn said. “What is failing is No Child Left Behind. The law is completely unfair. While we know there is certainly room for improvement in our schools, it’s a statistical guarantee in this law that all of our schools will soon be in federal improvement status. That’s unrealistic.”

Results on the WASL are high stakes for schools that qualify for Title I federal funding based on percentages of children whose family income qualifies them for free or subsidized lunches.

Several districts, including Everett and Marysville, will have to offer bus transportation to more elementary school students whose neighborhood schools didn’t post high enough scores to meet the federal goals.

The date of the release, which typically occurs around the end of August, was moved up this year because of a new federal requirement that parents be informed of schools in improvement two weeks before the start of school.

To check out how a school district or individual school did, go to www.k12.wa.us and click on “School Report Card” to search.

This is the last annual report on the WASL. The WASL will be replaced next school year with Measurements of Student Progress and the High School Proficiency Exam. Beginning next spring, the new state tests will be shorter, the time it takes to administer them will be cut in half and online testing will be piloted in reading and math.

Despite the changes, results for the new exams will be able to be compared with WASL results, according to state education officials.