Whatcom County WASL scores are mixed bag

The class of 2009 was in good position to pass the reading and writing WASL, a graduation requirement, with 86 percent of incoming 12th graders statewide already passing both tests. About 75 percent of the class of 2010 has passed the reading and writing tests.

In Whatcom County, the fourth- and seventh-grade slumps were evident, with large declines in some cases. The positive side to this year’s Whatcom County WASL results is the science test. In many schools and districts, the number of students passing the science test as much as doubled.

Below is a look at how each district performed, with highlights and low points of the results.

BELLINGHAM

The percentage of students passing the WASL when compared to last year dropped in almost every category, but the district is still above the state average.

One school with notable progress was Happy Valley Elementary, which saw the number of third- and fifth-graders passing their respective tests increase. The percentage of third-graders passing the reading test jumped from 69 percent in 2007 to about 91 percent in the spring. Fifth-graders rose in reading from 83 percent to 94 percent. In math, the third-graders jumped from 72 percent passing in 2007 to 91 percent.

Fourth and seventh grade were problems across the district, just like at the state level. The percentage of students passing the seventh-grade reading WASL dropped from 76.7 percent in 2007 to 68.1 percent, and the percentage of fourth-grade students passing the math test dropped from 69.2 percent to 58.1 percent.

"One of the struggles we always deal with is the starting gap difference," said Superintendent Ken Vedra. "Getting every child to grade level is something important, but we need to know where they’re starting."

The district is working to offer more early childhood education through full-day kindergarten, hopefully reducing the students’ differences in academic levels when they start school.

Vedra and other district officials are changing the curriculum so instruction better builds upon itself and students get not only tests but “continual checks of understanding” throughout the year to make sure they master the subject matter.

"WASL is only a single-point-in-time measure," he said. "What about kids having a bad day?"

BLAINE

The percentage of students passing the math WASL increased in every grade level, except 10, but Superintendent Ron Spanjer hopes that's a problem that will be solved soon.

Last year, the high school started remedial math programs for incoming freshmen. While the percentage of 10th-grade students passing the math test dropped from about 54 percent in 2007 to 45 percent this spring, Spanjer hopes targeting struggling students before the test will improve scores.

The increase in elementary and middle school students passing the math test can probably be attributed to the districtwide math emphasis last year, which included family math nights, Spanjer said.

"We're encouraged that the system level approach we're doing in math is showing immediate results," Spanjer said. "The more we see scores improving, performance improving at the elementary and middle levels, the task for the high school becomes much more manageable."

The district also saw improvements on all science tests and reading tests in grades 3, 5 and 8. But, the percentage of students passing the reading test in grades 4, 6, 7 and 10 all dropped.

"When we push hard on reading, reading scores go up. When we push hard on math, we run the risk of reading scores taking a dip," Spanjer said. "Our focus this year will be math. We feel we're making good progress and are on track. But, we don't need reading scores slipping because then kids will struggle even more in each subject area."

FERNDALE

The number of students passing the science and writing WASL test increased across all grade levels, with some schools doubling the number of students passing.

Cynthia Sicillia, the director of curriculum and instruction, said the increases can be partially attributed to the North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership and new writing instructional materials adopted at the elementary level last year.

For example, the number of students passing the science test at Central and Custer elementaries more than doubled when compared to last year.

Sicillia is a bit concerned about the number of students passing the fourth-grade reading test, which dropped from about 79 percent in 2007 to about 68 percent this year. Schools have been using the “Walk to Read” program, which puts students into reading level-appropriate groups, and have had classroom success, Sicillia said.

"It's made a big difference in our schools that are able to have the resources to do that, so we are a little concerned," she said.

There also was a dip in the number of students passing the math test at the middle school level, but Sicillia said that could be attributed to a new math curriculum. It can take a few years to see improvement

"Whenever we implement a new set of (math) instructional materials, they have a dip," Sicillia said. "We expected it."

LYNDEN

Like other districts around the county, Lynden saw an increase in the number of students passing the science WASL and a decrease in the number passing the reading WASL.

"I think overall we're still out-performing state average in a lot of cases, not all cases, but they're still pretty good scores," said Rick Thompson, curriculum director for the district.

At the district level, the fifth grade was the only one where gains were made on all tests, with more than 70 percent of student passing the reading and writing and more than 50 percent passing the science test.

On the reading test, small improvements were made only in grades 5 and 10, with others, like the seventh grade, dropping from 72 percent passing in 2007 to about 53 percent passing this year.

But science scores continued to rise, with more than 70 percent of Lynden Middle School eighth-graders and Isom Elementary fifth-graders passing the test.

"We will continue to work in science education," Thompson said. "We're heavily invested in that."

Math scores dipped at the third and seventh grades, but Thompson hopes the newly adopted state math standards and teacher training will change that in years to come.

MERIDIAN

The number of students passing the math, writing and science WASL tests increased in all grades, except seventh, when compared to last year.

Large gains were made at the eighth grade, with the percentage of students passing the reading WASL jumping from about 61 percent to about 76 percent, the percentage passing math going from about 49 to 61 percent and those passing science rising from about 30 to 45 percent.

Seventh-grade scores weren’t as high as hoped this year, and declined when compared to their scores as sixth-grade students and last year’s seventh-grade students. District officials are looking into the dip to see if there’s something that needs to be addressed with the group of students or the instruction model, said Deka Smith, executive director of teaching and learning.

"These scores are one piece of many things that we're taking into consideration as we pursue growth across the district," she said.

The district will focus on math this year, with district officials working to align the math curriculum from building to building. On Tuesday, the district adopted a new K-5 math curriculum that is directly aligned to the state standards, Smith said.

"We're working to align our buildings and subject areas, grade levels, so that we can use all our resources more efficiently in a way that more directly impacts student performance," Smith said.

MOUNT BAKER

The district saw fewer students passing the four tests than it has in the past, but Mount Baker High School continues to have some of the highest reading and writing scores in the county.

About 93 percent of students passed the reading and writing tests in the 10th grade, and while that’s a decline from last year's scores, the school is still above the state average on all four tests.

Following the state pattern, the number of fourth-graders passing the tests dropped, especially on the math test. About 49 percent passed in 2007 and only about 29 percent passed this year.

"Staff in this district, students in this district, our families, we take continuous improvement very, very seriously," Superintendent Richard Gantman said about the district's approach to program modifications. "The federal and state standards are of value to us because they give us one perspective of how our students and our schools are doing. But it's one perspective. Our school improvement plans have a number of indicators to watch."

One such indicator is reading benchmarks that the elementary schools use to make sure students are learning the material. District staff will combine WASL scores and data gathered at the schools to make changes throughout the year, Gantman said.

"Trying to look at the WASL and make decisions about how to change programs is like taking a photograph of a football game and asking how are you going to play differently," Gantman said. "A photo is one moment in time and of value but not of tremendous value."

NOOKSACK VALLEY

Math scores dropped across the district, with only the seventh grade making a slight improvement over last year.

"Math is a challenge for us," said Cindy Stockwell, assistant superintendent. "It's a challenge for everyone."

The percentage of students passing the reading test also dropped in each grade, but writing scores improved. About 78 percent of fourth- graders passed the writing test this year, compared to about 66 percent last year, and about 83 percent of seventh-graders passed the test this year, compared to about 70 percent last year.

"I think, regardless of some dips in a few areas, we're focusing on math really strongly, we've been focusing on science, and we saw growth across the district in those areas," Stockwell said. "A few years ago we focused on literacy and we had great strength and now we need to balance."

One school that made significant improvement was Nooksack Elementary. More than 90 percent of students passed in five areas: fourth grade reading and writing and fifth grade reading, math and science.

"We're going to be learning from them, we want to celebrate with them but want to learn from them as well," Stockwell said.

ASSUMPTION CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Students at the Bellingham-based Catholic school posted high marks in many subjects, especially sixth-grade reading, where 100 percent of students passed the test.

Other highlights include about 95 percent of seventh-grade students and about 96 percent of fourth-grade students passing the writing test and about 87 percent of sixth-grade students passing the math test.

"They're excellent scores," Principal Rose Goeres said. "The teachers and students work really hard for academic excellence."

Assumption, which only has classes up to eighth grade, isn't required to offer the WASL because it's a private school. Goeres said the school uses it and the Iowa Test of Basic Skills to help monitor student performance and prepare them for when they enter public high school.

"I want to make sure students are comfortable and confident and have the skills to be successful in high school," Goeres said.

The fourth-grade students struggled in math, with only about 67 percent passing the test, but Goeres said teachers will look at students to see who needs the extra help.

"We just put out there what we expect," she said. "Areas where we're low, we look at what we can do."

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