Board OKs reprieve on WASL's math test

The state Board of Education on Tuesday approved delaying the requirement that high-school students pass the math section of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) in order to graduate.

The board's action came one day after Gov. Christine Gregoire and Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said they would recommend that the 2007 Legislature approve a three-year transition period for the classes of 2008, 2009 and 2010. During that time, students who fail the math WASL could graduate on time if they continued taking high-school math classes or passed the WASL.

The State Board, which oversees K-12 schools, also adopted a "math action plan" developed jointly with Bergeson's office and the Professional Educator Standards Board, which oversees teacher credentials. The three groups will present the plan to the House Education Committee on Thursday.

The plan calls for better teacher training, more effective classroom materials, more high-school math for college-bound students, a longer school day and school year, and a community outreach plan to stress the importance of math education.

Bergeson, who serves on the Board of Education, said it was important that the state not back off from the high performance standards set by the WASL. The Class of 2008, this year's juniors, are the first who must pass the test's reading, writing and math sections to graduate.

"We don't want to give the impression we're backing off on math. We're not," Bergeson said. She said that allowing students who fail the 10th-grade math WASL to take more high-school math classes will raise individual skills while addressing a systemwide failure.

Bergeson, who has vigorously defended the state test as a graduation requirement, said she'd hoped to talk to more principals and superintendents before agreeing to a delay. But when the governor decided to act, Bergeson said Tuesday, she thought it critical to throw her support behind Gregoire.

About 49 percent of sophomores failed the math portion of the WASL last spring. While some passed an August retake, about 32,000 still haven't passed the test and face not getting a diploma. The failure rate is even higher for some minorities. While 55 percent of whites and 60 percent of Asians passed the math WASL, just 23 percent of African Americans and 25 percent of Hispanics did so.

The board said its support for delaying the math WASL as a graduation requirement is contingent upon state funding for the action plan. State leaders haven't yet estimated what it would cost to significantly improve math education.

About 14,000 students scored at the lowest level on the 10th-grade math WASL last spring, indicating they have only elementary knowledge of math.

The board turned down a proposal to require a grade of C or better in the additional math classes. Bergeson said new instructional approaches may target specific skills and may not award grades. She warned that the state faces a "huge staffing issue" as it searches for math teachers to fill the additional courses students would be required to take in lieu of the WASL. She said teaching skills and classroom materials at the middle-school level also must be improved to raise overall student achievement.

State educators have generally welcomed the idea of a transition period for the math WASL requirement, saying it's not fair to punish students for schools' failure to teach them math.

Rich Wood, spokesman for the Washington Education Association, said the teachers union supports alternatives to the WASL as a graduation requirement.

Marysville Superintendent Larry Nyland said there appeared to be a "meeting of the minds" that a delay was necessary to identify more effective textbooks, get teachers more training and clarify the state's learning goals for math.

A bill to postpone the WASL as a graduation requirement failed during the 2006 legislative session. The measure's sponsor, Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, a member of the House Education Committee, said Tuesday the State Board's action represents a "practical approach to a system that isn't working."

"The fact that there's an across-the-board failure in math is going to be a wake-up call to the Legislature this year," she said.

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