online high schools: a disappointment?

Initial results from Washington's online high schools, at first glance, seem disappointing:

According to a state report released last month, nearly half of the students taking online classes in 2008 failed with an D or F grade.

Also, online school is not a get-out-of-WASL-free card. Full-time online students must take the test in person at a testing site set up by the school. Part-time students who take one or two classes online still test at their home districts.

Statewide, several online schools have a hard time getting their students to show up for the test, which results in mixed performance reviews.

In the six online schools the state studied, fewer than half of sophomores passed the reading WASL last spring, compared to 81 percent statewide. Less than 20 percent of those sophomores passed the math WASL.

Online school officials say the report is flawed. Students who skipped the WASL counted as a zero, which dragged the school average down.

Take out the “zeros” at Washington Virtual Academy for example, and 77 percent of their sophomores passed WASL reading. In math, 31 percent passed compared to 45 percent statewide....

Online school students at those six schools took the WASL 64 percent of the time, compared to nearly 98 percent statewide, the report said.

I'm pretty sure that the results can mostly be explained by the way online school is currently employed: as a second chance for students who've struggled in a traditional environment. A 50% passing rate, then, might actually represent a genuine success. We'll have to see longer-term results from districts that have a mixed approach. From a cost-benefit perspective, the lower infrastructure and instructional costs, even if the passing rate stays flat at 50%, might still make the project worthwhile.

giddy with anticipation for the last time

For most, Christmas comes twice a year: once in December, and once in July, when Santa descends from the North Pole to deliver mattress sales.

For Washington educator-types, Christmas comes a third time, in August, when the state releases WASL results.

For one last year. After this, we'll have to get giddy about the High School Proficiency Exam, or HSPE, which, quite frankly, doesn't roll off the tongue.* What else does the future hold?

Students in third-through-eighth-grades will take the new Measurements of Student Progress. It will be shorter than the WASL.

About a quarter of the state’s sixth-through-eighth-graders are expected to take their exams online next spring, according to OSPI.

Dorn plans to have the majority of state testing online by the spring of 2012.

And who knows what the test will be like / called by then.

*Any experts at OSPI care to tell us how to pronounce the shorthand version? Is it H-S-P-E? HissPee? HizzPeh? H-Spee?

a little love for the WASL

This morning's Seattle Times offers an article on a recent survey of Washington teachers regarding the soon-to-be-obsolete WASL. An unfortunately small, probably unrepresentative sample reports that, yes, there are some good things about having a statewide standardized test that values critical thinking.

Teachers echoed many of the same old criticisms of the WASL — it's too long, the results are confusing and don't come back in time — but they also credited the WASL with improving students' writing and reasoning skills.

They pointed favorably to its "extended response" questions, which are to be eliminated from new exams favored by Randy Dorn, the new state superintendent of public instruction who campaigned to replace the WASL.

The new tests, to be introduced next spring, will continue to have some short-answer questions but will be largely multiple-choice.

That will be true for the state exams given to 10th-graders and those for students in third though eighth grades. The only exception will be the writing section, where students will still be judged on the quality of short essays.

Researchers found that most of the teachers they surveyed wanted to improve, rather than replace, the WASL. The difference is tough to discern. At some point, we enter into Ship of Theseus territory.

And what about the upcoming non-WASL?

[Superintendent Randy] Dorn is working to offer the test online; math sections will be updated; and the superintendent's office is working on classroom tests that would allow teachers to diagnose what help students need.

Missing: by 2014, math tests will be end-of-course exams directly linked to instruction in various subjects, since not all students take the same math sequence. (The way things have gone, who knows what'll be required by then, anyway.)

The key change is the new, technologically-mediated approach to the upcoming non-WASL's diagnostic capabilities. If the test, as its proponents claim, validly points out deficiencies in instruction, then that information needs to be in schools' and teachers' hands within days, not months. (And, as I argue elsewhere, a better diagnostic test might not even need to be linked to graduation to be effective.)

Last, if we can save at least ten of the sixteen hours currently spent administering the 10th-grade WASL, I'll see that as a win.

math requirements changed again, again

From time to time, this blog deals with the education standards set by the state, particularly those dealing with graduation requirements. After all, they're important.

They're also as confusing as hell.

Actually, more confusing, because in hell, as Gary Larson, cartoonist and theologian, noted, you get your accordion and off you go. As for passing high school in Washington state, should you fail the math WASL*: welcome to hell. Here's your flow chart.

Which is now obsolete, with yet another in a long line of changes to the math requirements. The Seattle Times explains:

The board decided earlier that beginning with the class of 2013, high-school students will be required to earn three credits of math to earn a diploma.

When the requirement was changed, the state rule said students who took a high-school-level math class without credit as an eighth-grader were required to repeat that same course for credit in high school.

The state board decided Friday that students can choose to start with a different math class in high school and don't have to repeat the eighth-grade class if they don't want to.

Hurrah for flexibility, I suppose. And, hopefully, someday, hurrah for clarity.

Someday.

Until then, here's your accordion.



*Which won't be the WASL for long. Progress!

your cheatin' WASL

Surprise to no one: a high-stakes test induces "irregularities," including cheating by both students and teachers. KIRO's breathless story:

A four-month KIRO Team 7 Investigation uncovers hundreds of cases where students and teachers failed to play fair on mandatory assessment tests.

Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne proves how a little cheating can go a long way in improving scores and reputations.

Under the Washington Open Records Act, KIRO Team 7 Investigators acquired reports of around 650 WASL "irregularities" filed in the past three years.

We dug deep into that data and found accusations of cheating, which could falsely improve scores, spread out in 317 different schools in more than 100 districts.

Texting answers, using dictionaries and calculators, and teachers helping kids score math points are just a few examples of cheating reported to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Our research also found that plenty of classroom cheating goes unreported – something students we interviewed confirmed.

Out of curiosity, I looked at the 2008 data for some local districts. The results are a little less than overwhelming. Some calculator mistakes (that didn't affect the outcome, apparently), an overzealous scribe, students passing notes, some "non-allowed accommodations," and, my personal favorite, "staff members [sic] cell phone went off during testing."

math WASL: one and done?

If Governor Gregoire signs HB 1562, students who fail the math WASL wouldn't have to keep taking it and taking it. Instead, they'd have to earn at least two more math credits during their high school career.

"To me, it makes perfect sense rather than retaking the WASL," said Jean Lane, Richland School District superintendent.

What students need if they're failing the 10th-grade math test is more math education, not more testing, she said.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has proposed phasing in a replacement for the WASL that would be less on general knowledge and instead test students at the end of a course on knowledge they gained in that class.

Dorn spokesman Nathan Olson said that form of assessment should be in place by 2013, when the proposed law would expire.

Why change things now?

Ron Williamson, assistant superintendent for secondary education for the Kennewick School District, said dropping the requirement to retake the test in 11th and 12th grades would cut down on confusion.

"From a school perspective and a parent perspective, this probably helps because there is so much information about the WASL and the changing requirements that parents get mixed signals," he said.

So another change will help cut down the confusion caused by all the changes.

Yeah.

Update: She signed it.

replace the WASL... with what, exactly?

Randy Dorn has already started the chainsaw of WASL reform. That tree's headed for the lumber yard. Gerald Bracey on the plan:

Dorn wants to replace the WASL with shorter, multiple-choice tests. Bad idea. And he wants the tests to be more "diagnostic." Dorn's impossible dream.

First off, in a KUOW interview, Dorn said the new tests would still be valid. He cannot know that. Validity is always an empirical question. Usually, if you make a test shorter, it becomes less valid. Of course, I've oversimplified in that statement. The question really is, valid for what? It's relatively easy to judge the content validity of test items — do they measure what they claim to measure? From the released WASL items I've seen, I'm not certain those items do....

But the bigger validity question is: Does the test make any difference? Are college professors more pleased with students who have passed the test? Are employers? The answer is a resounding, "We don't know." States are afraid to ask this question because, if the answer comes up, "No," they will be seen to have spent millions, even billions, of dollars for nothing. But informal studies by journalists have yet to turn up a positive instance. So forget all the fear-mongering rhetoric that we need these tests in order to compete with China and in the global economy.

The solution is taking the sting out of the WASL. Right now, our school uses a WASLesque reading assessment to help place students in appropriate instruction. It's given on computers, adaptive, and offers near-instant results. It's not perfectly valid for everything, but that's not its point. It's part of a battery of assessments, and it's not a graduation requirement. Its utility has nothing to do with its lack of "high stakes" motivation.

According to Bracey, what alder of progress should arise in the WASL's place? He concludes with a catkin of a recommendation:

What Washington should pursue is a course like Nebraska's, where testing ideas originated with teachers (remember them?) and evolved into something we might call instruction-driven measurement. Right now, what we have is measurement-driven instruction and it is a disaster, both in Washington and in the nation at large.

Bzzt. False dichotomy, five yard penalty. Intelligently-crafted assessment should drive instruction, and instruction should inform assessment. No either-or about it.

$7 million roof repair tab; also, no WASL for freshfolks

Initial estimates for repair costs for Capital's collapsed roof run into the meeelions.

"The $7 million figure is the best estimate by our insurers of the potential magnitude of the claim so far," district spokesman Peter Rex said.

However, that won't necessarily cover the entire amount of what it would cost to rebuild the roof and the school's library, which was gutted after the roof collapsed on Christmas Day. District officials won't know the final cost of the reconstruction until they find out what caused the roof to collapse and who is financially liable, Rex said.

It is unknown why a truss supporting the roof failed after a heavy snowstorm, and district officials said last month that it could be several months before the cause is known. Damage might not be repaired until fall, they said.

On Monday, the district will hold a public hearing before the board amends the district's 2008-09 budget to accommodate $7 million in emergency expenses related to the roof collapse.

Thank goodness for insurance. Of course, costs can be expected to climb...

Which brings us to the second budget-related item, the cancellation of the 9th-grade WASL.

State schools chief Randy Dorn eliminated giving freshmen the option of taking the test, part of an effort to save nearly $500,000, his office announced Wednesday night.

Tenth-graders still are required to take the test, as are third- through eighth-graders and some high school juniors and seniors.

Dorn said last month that he will revamp the entire testing system by next year in favor of shorter exams with faster feedback.

It makes sense and it saves money. Dorn's not perfect, but he's made some good choices so far.

this'd better not start a trend

A promise is a promise:

"I'm trying to avoid major freeways. I called a couple of bicycling groups in the area and asked for some route help so I'm driving on the least traffic highways," said Principal Mike Taylor, Columbia Burbank Middle School.

Taylor will leave tomorrow and when he arrives in Olympia 40 of his students will be greeting him there.

Why's he making the trip? Because all of his students improved their scores 4 out of 8 sections of the WASL. If it'd been 6 out of ten, Taylor would be wearing a pink suit as he crosses the Cascades.

Good luck, Mr. Taylor. You crazy, crazy man.

Olympia School District tidbits

1. The Olympia School District kicked off another year with its annual Learning Improvement Days, this Monday and Tuesday. Andrea Peterson, 2007 Teacher of the Year, gave an inspirational and humor-filled speech about the necessity of relationships to teaching, and how in the new "Three R's," Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships, the latter gets short shrift despite its foundational importance.

I'd have more detailed comments, but my hard drive was destroyed in a series of frightful noises.

2. We have two new School Board members, if you hadn't already heard: Eileen Thomson and Mark Campeau. They were appointed by the remaining three, in order of seniority: Carolyn Barclift, Frank Wilson, and Allen Miller. Now that "crisis mode" is over, it's time for the District to have a thoroughgoing discussion of our values, goals, and weaknesses.

3. No Child Left Behind has caught up to two district schools, The Olympian reports:

Fifty-seven districts and 628 schools statewide are listed as needing improvement under No Child Left Behind in a preliminary report released Thursday by state Superintendent Terry Bergeson.

North Thurston was the only Thurston County district listed as needing improvement overall, but nearly all of the county's eight districts failed to meet federal benchmarks in at least one area, according to the report....

•Avanti High School: Did not meet target graduation rate.

•Jefferson Middle School: Math for the special-education and low-income groups; reading for the special-education group.

Since our results are tied to the WASL, and since WASL scores dipped in many categories statewide, which Bergeson blamed on "something... happening with the kids," one has to wonder if WASL angst is going to be enough to propel her competition, Randy Dorn, this November.

Capital gets a visit from the accreditation team

As I was scrambling to get my senior writing class settled in the computer lab, the accreditation man appeared, out of the void, and stood at my side, watching the class, filing away mental notes. He wore a floral tie, a navy blue suit, and a serious look.

"This is an English course?" he asked. Uh-huh.

"Where'd you earn your degree?" Master's in teaching from Evergreen.

"How long've you been teaching here?" Six years.

"Did you see the article this morning about the WASL not being the hurdle we thought it would? Something like six students in the district aren't passing?" I thought, See it? I'm going to blog about it. I said, well, it's not too surprising, since math was no longer included. But I'm more concerned with the dropout rate. It's never specifically addressed in the article, and, I fear, gets short shrift in state discussions.

He nodded. He stood for a while, then left, off to another class.

I wondered if I made the grade.

you call that front page news?

I usually read The Olympian online, so I was shocked to find that the print edition put this story on the front page:

Margaret Dutch's daughter ran into an unusual math problem while taking the Washington Assessment of Student Learning at Capital High School last week.

Her daughter, a sophomore, was given a school-issued calculator without a square-root function for the math test. Later, she found out that nearly everyone else in her class had a calculator with a square-root button.

The District has already promised to investigate the matter, ensuring a correction if the square root is the only thing between the sophomore and passing the math section. One minor mishap out of several hundred administered tests--is this even news?

I'm not skipping the math WASL

Because I'm proctoring it, I don't have to pass it. Technically, neither do the seniors who'll be retaking it under my watch--but that's only if they're passing their third year of math.

Confused?

You're not alone.

Although there are alternative means for students to achieve the state’s current math standard, such as a “Collection of Evidence” that gathers tests and papers from a student’s high school career to prove mastery of WASL skills, or substituting a college entrance exam score, students still must attempt to pass the math WASL each year.

Two years of high school math are required for graduation. But the state mandates members of the Class of 2008 who did not pass the math WASL to pass a third year of math; members of the Class of 2009 who didn’t meet the math standard must pass two additional years.

Not everyone who is taking those mandatory credits is passing, Caba said, which could affect their graduation. And while some students have submitted a “Collection of Evidence” and others may use college entrance exams, not all of those scores are in.

But even if they are pursuing these options, re-taking the math WASL is mandatory.

Tomorrow's going to be fun.

skipping out on the WASL--alternative

Maybe they don't know, maybe they've forgotten, or maybe they just don't wanna:

Friday is the deadline for seniors who want to sign up to submit a portfolio with a "collection of evidence" as an alternative to passing the math, reading or writing sections of the test, commonly called the WASL. The portfolio is due in February.

As of Wednesday, no students who still need to pass the math portion have signed up for that option in Olympia or Tumwater, and one student signed up for it in North Thurston, district officials said. More students are taking the portfolio option for writing and reading.

The other option is to take the ACT or SAT, or score highly on AP tests. Which, of course, makes one wonder why we can't just make the SAT mandatory and skip the costly, time-consuming, late-result-ridden WASL.

how to teach the WASL

The Science Goddess is sharing her methods for approaching the WASL in the classroom. It's not just for science teachers, either. Check it out.

districts failing AYP in special ed

In Thurston County, only 3 of 8 districts meet federal Adequate Yearly Progress benchmarks in Special Education--simply because they don't have enough students in that category. Elsewhere, trouble brewing:

"I anticipate we'll have more and more districts have (Adequate Yearly Progress) problems if there's no change in the rules," said Alan Burke, superintendent of Yelm Community Schools.

Most students in special education programs take the same assessments as everyone else in their grade level....

With the large increase in districts that did not meet federal benchmarks, state officials seek assessment alternatives for students in special education programs statewide.

"What we're trying to do is honor the intent of the law, but at the same time, provide alternatives for kids," said Catherine Taylor, director of assessment alternatives at the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. "The dilemma always is that we don't have any power over the alternatives to offer because it's a federal law, and we go by their guidelines."

Have to wonder how a system arose that provides qualitatively different education but expects quantitatively similar results.

Olympia School District kicks the WASL's assessment

Usually we get detailed charts and graphs at our year-opening meeting with the superintendent. This year, though, we got simple rankings: where we stand relative to other school districts with 5,000+ students. When it comes to 10th grade reading, we're number one. 10th Writing, 4th. We're in the top ten in math and science, too, if I recall correctly. This English teacher wasn't paying as close attention when those rankings rolled in.

Parade rain: not everybody passed. Not even in reading.

Olympia School District's preliminary WASL scores released

The numbers are in:

Of the 805 Olympia School District 10th-graders who took the reading portion of the WASL, 739 passed, preliminary results show. Of the 809 Olympia 10th-graders who took the writing portion, 763 passed. And of the 794 Olympia 10th-graders who took the math portion, 541 passed.

The percentages, for those scoring at home, are 92% in reading, 94% in writing, and 68% in math. Those are provisional scores, though, subject to over-the-summer verification. All are better than state averages.

In the class of 2008, the first who really have to pass the reading and writing portions, only 13 students haven't yet made it. Math, for the uninitiated, isn't a grad requirement until 2013--or maybe not even then.

a reporter takes the WASL

The eighth grade math WASL, that is. The results: far from pretty.

Later that night, after downloading the entire 52 pages from the two sessions of the 8th grade math WASL, I hit my stride. I got a few right, mostly multiple choices, which only count for one point whereas the multi-parter counts for four. But, I even got three correct in a row!

Nevertheless, even with that success, I knew if I were in 8th grade and had to take this test for real, well, I'd probably be heading to summer school.

Our own David Johnston, who sent along the link, appears in the comments.

Some wags have called for our state's leaders to take the WASL and prove their mettle--and its. I'd be afraid, though, that it would only undermine confidence in our fragile democracy.

grading the writing WASL

My freshfolks finished a sample prompt in just over an hour, then waited a few days as other teachers read their work, scoring it according to the WASL rubric. Before they got their essays back, they read and scored three samples, then discussed--make that debated--the scores in small groups. We reconvened as a whole class, continuing arguing about whether this or that essay was a 2 or a 3, and then, at long last, I revealed the scores provided by OSPI.

All I will say is this: students of Washington, you do not want my students assessing your essays. The WASL rubric is generic and generous in parts, open to interpretation, not terribly objective--what's the difference, quantitatively, between "consistently" and "generally" when counting up spelling errors? But my students were harsh, harsh, harsh.

When they saw the discrepancy, sometimes as much as a difference between a 1 and a 4*, the "real" score, they were shocked. It makes me happy to know they have such high standards.

The writing WASL doesn't measure excellence; it measures competence. Go ahead, quantify the difference. Defend your answer in a five-paragraph essay, and submit it to my class for assessment.

I dare you.




*Out of 6.