State finds schools broke WASL protocols

By The Associated Press

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In one case, a class of fifth-grade students in Graham, Pierce County, corrected their Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) tests after finishing them, The News Tribune of Tacoma reported yesterday.

School officials later invalidated the results of the science tests and gave the Rocky Ridge Elementary School teacher who administered them a 15-day suspension for violating WASL test protocols, the newspaper said.

Details of "irregularities" in the testing were spelled out in nearly 200 pages of documents obtained by The News Tribune through public-disclosure requests.

A handful of teachers have been reprimanded, placed on paid leave or suspended without pay after reportedly disclosing questions before the exam, changing answers or counseling students to fix their answers.

The state might invalidate certain tests at seven schools and is closely watching scores at eight other schools, according to preliminary estimates.

State education officials stress that WASL testing abnormalities are rare, noting that the test was successfully administered to 400,000 students this year.

But some say it's problematic for the state to depend on schools to self-police testing and report troubles. Critics say schools have an inherent conflict of interest because so much is at stake.

Under federal education-reform laws, failing schools face strict sanctions, including staff reassignment. The class of 2008 will have to pass the WASL to graduate.

"When excessively heavy weight is given to tests, all kinds of behaviors that corrupt the meaning of the test take place," said Robert Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a watchdog group. "As the pressure around testing goes up, some people crack and cross the ethical line to get the scores they need."

Other states, including California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Colorado, have grappled with overeager teachers knowingly or unknowingly helping students too much on standardized tests.
 
"This is a nationwide phenomena," Schaeffer said. "It's not right, but it's a predictable consequence of the extraordinary pressure teachers and schools are under to boost scores by any means possible."

The state sent out a WASL guidance manual before the April 19-May 7 testing window this year.

In the Rocky Ridge incident, students said teacher Jeanne Dykstra told them to adjust their answers, a claim she denied when the case was investigated.

The state's testing coordinator said Dykstra's departures from testing protocols and the "flagrant disregard and clear abandonment" of standards invalidated her students' test scores. Dykstra spent 15 days on paid suspension.

Other problems The News Tribune found:

• A middle-school teacher in Yakima County's Toppenish School District was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations of erasures and "serious irregularities" related to a seventh-grade WASL test.

• A fourth-grade teacher in the Edmonds School District looked at every student's booklet after they took the math WASL and told several students "you need to redo this." The teacher claims she did not intend to give students an advantage, said district spokeswoman Debbie Jakala. The tests will not be invalidated.

• At Beachwood Elementary in the Clover Park School District, officials have recommended a two-week paid suspension for a fourth-grade teacher after a district administrator found "it is obvious the questions the teacher used to prepare the students in the day or two before the test were so close to the actual test questions that they appear to have been generated from the actual WASL math test." The teacher is appealing.

Students also have sought advantages on the WASL by sharing test questions, The News Tribune reported.

At Timberline High School in the North Thurston School District, a 10th-grader came to school with an outline of a WASL writing prompt he learned from a student at another high school, who already had taken the test. That portion of the student's test likely will be invalidated, state records indicate.

Next year, the state will move to uniform testing days for 10th-graders to deter students from sharing test information. But some legislators are wondering if the test needs to be monitored like the SAT.

"We're moving into uncharted territory," said Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, a member of the House Education Committee.

Rep. Gigi Talcott, R-Tacoma, another member of the committee, believes the vast majority of test-taking across the state is honest, but would like to see tighter controls and more accountability.

"I would like to believe that every classroom teacher, every politician and every car salesman is honest," Talcott said. "But I know that's not the case."