2006 WASL results erase many gains made last year

Last year at this time, the Everett School District was celebrating strong gains across most grades and in most subjects on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The district even received a special commendation from the state for its improvements on the standardized test.

But many of those gains were erased Friday when the 2006 WASL results were released. Everett seventh-graders dropped six percentage points in reading, five in math and three in writing. Everett fourth-graders also saw their passing rates drop in all three subjects.

Those results weren't out of line with students across the state, where reading and math scores were down slightly for fourth-graders, while seventh-grade reading took a big dive after several years of substantial gains.

There was also a mixed bag of results south of Seattle.

In Federal Way, spokeswoman Diane Turner said district officials were "disappointed and perplexed" by the seventh-grade scores. But Turner said efforts the district has made to improve scores appear to be working. A math teacher-training pilot program at seven elementary schools showed big increases in fourth-grade math scores. Now the district will look at expanding that program.

In Kent, seventh-grade scores stayed fairly flat, but the percentage of fourth-graders meeting standards in all three subjects fell. However, more than half of Kent's 10th-graders passed all three subjects required to graduate — math, reading, writing — a first for the district.

Tenth-graders in Snohomish County, their diplomas on the line, also made significant gains in reading and writing.

Edmonds, Snohomish and Stanwood school districts all saw the number of sophomores meeting standards in reading rise to 87 percent. In Snohomish and Stanwood, writing scores jumped to 88 percent.

But less progress was made in math, leaving about half of the county's 10th-graders with just two years to gain the skills they need to graduate. Among the best-performing districts, 56 percent of Edmonds and 55 percent of Mukilteo and Snohomish sophomores met state standards in math.

Some districts fared much worse. In Marysville and Granite Falls, 40 percent of 10th-graders passed the math portion of the test. In Sultan, it was 42 percent.

Snohomish County educators were philosophical about the drop in seventh-grade reading scores, noting that the number of students meeting state standards has risen steadily the past several years.

"No one runs out and buys a new reading program based on one data point," said Nancy Katims, assessment director for the Edmonds School District, where seventh-grade reading scores declined five percentage points.

She said further analysis of the data is needed to see whether a number of students fell just short of meeting standards or whether they were far off the mark.

"My biggest concern is still getting help to the neediest kids," she said.

Lynn Thompson: 425-745-7807 or lthompson@seattletimes.com