10th-grade WASL may ditch math and science

State lawmakers appear on the verge of dumping the math and science sections of the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), and replacing them with a very different kind of test.

The idea is to do something about the fact that so few students pass the math and science sections. But the proposed remedy is generating a lot of concern because it could mean big changes in what students are expected to learn, and how they're tested.

"We need to make sure that the cure is not worse than the ailment," said Marc Frazer, vice president of the Washington Roundtable, a nonprofit group of business executives.

If the math and science portions of the WASL are eliminated, it would be the second time the state has dropped part of the exam. A "listening" section, designed to measure communication skills, was removed without controversy three years ago.

Two bills under consideration — one passed by the House, a similar version by the Senate — would phase out math and science on the 10th-grade WASL. The state Board of Education then would select new tests in algebra, geometry and biology to be given right after students finish courses in those subjects.

The algebra test would become a graduation requirement starting in 2013, geometry in 2014, and biology in 2013; under the Senate bill or 2014 in the House version.

WASL proposals

HIGHLIGHTS OF BILLS to eliminate the math and science sections of the WASL:

• The math and science sections of the WASL would be replaced with end-of-course exams in algebra, geometry and biology.

• Passing the end-of-course exams would become graduation requirements in — and —, depending on the test.

• Until that time, students still would take the math WASL or an approved alternative. If they failed, however, they could still graduate until 2010 (under the House bill) or — (in the Senate bill) if they continued to pass math classes.

Both bills would narrow the field of what's tested.

The math WASL now includes probability and other topics in addition to algebra and geometry. The science WASL covers more than biology.

The House bill also says the new exams "must rely" on multiple-choice questions, which the WASL doesn't. It has some fill-in-the-bubble items, but among its hallmarks are short-answer and "extended response" items that require students to solve problems, apply what they've learned, or explain how they arrived at an answer.

Many not passing

End-of-course exams emerged this year as one of many ideas for solving the state's math and science problem. Students in the class of 2008 — the first class that must pass reading, writing and math on the WASL (or an approved alternative) to graduate — have a long way to go in those subjects.

Nearly 85 percent of the students in that class who've taken the exam have passed reading and writing.

But it's a different story in math and science, with just 56 percent passing math and 38 percent passing science. And that doesn't include about 3,500 students who've yet to take the exam.

Even before the Legislature convened in January, Gov. Christine Gregoire and Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson asked for a three-year delay in requiring passing scores in math and science for graduation. (In the meantime, they want students failing the WASL to have to pass math classes to graduate.)

The Legislature is considering the delay and a number of other bills that would provide more teacher training, add new math programs and bring a thorough review of the test. The state Board of Education recently hired an outside consultant to review the state's math-learning standards.

Some argue those are more important than changing the test, because the underlying problem is that students lack strong math skills.

Advocates of end-of-course exams don't dispute that.

"Obviously we need to have a better curriculum, better standards and better-prepared teachers," said state Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington.

Goal isn't easier tests

But it's high time to dump the math WASL, Sullivan says. He says he's heard too many stories about students who excel in advanced-math classes, yet fail that part of the test. He's confident end-of-course exams can be at least as rigorous as the math and science WASL, and provide results more quickly.

But Sullivan's bill and, to a lesser extent, the Senate bill have some groups uneasy. While agreeing end-of-course exams are a promising idea, they urge lawmakers not to act too hastily.

In a hearing last week, Bergeson warned that the House bill could "undermine the entire system we've built over the past 12 years."

Bergeson and others worry that off-the-shelf, multiple-choice exams would essentially do away with learning standards built here over many years.

"The fact that multiple-choice tests are easier to grade shouldn't lead us away from our standards," said Gary Kipp, executive director of the Association of Washington School Principals.

Multiple-choice tests have value, said Paul Rosier, executive director of the Washington Association of School Administrators, but they "test a different skill set."

"You don't explain your thinking on a multiple-choice test," he said. "We have worked very hard to get kids to think mathematically, and we have made great progress."

The House and Senate must agree on a common bill or the proposal will be derailed. Gregoire has not taken a position on the bills, her spokeswoman said.

Used in some other states

If Washington initiates end-of-course exams, it would join a growing number of states that have moved in that direction. Mississippi, New York, Tennessee and Virginia already use them as graduation tests, according to the nonprofit Center for Education Policy. Maryland, North Carolina and Oklahoma plan to do so by 2012.

End-of-course exams "make more sense to educators," said Jack Jennings, the center's president. "What they find is that it's better to test kids right after they finish a course than to try to test them at a later time across many subjects."

But it's clear such exams are no quick fix.

In Maryland, for example, the state phased in the tests over 10 years, said Deputy State Superintendent Ronald Peiffer. Plans call for the exams to count for graduation starting in 2009, but Maryland legislators are now debating whether to delay that date.

"You cannot assume that this will be easier," he said.

A number of Seattle-area school districts have their own end-of-course exams, including Kent and Federal Way. In Bellevue, the district gives common tests at the end of each math unit.

The districts use such tests for some of the same reasons other states are looking at them: They offer quick feedback about student skills and help bring consistency to what's taught in different schools.

Students also take the exams when the material is fresh in their minds. With the WASL, districts don't know "if the system didn't teach it, or if the child just forgot it," said Eric McDowell, Bellevue's math-curriculum director.

None of the districts, however, uses strictly multiple-choice tests.

The Senate bill is not as prescriptive as the one passed by the House. It wouldn't require that the new tests be multiple choice or that they could be given online. It calls for the end-of-course exams to first become one optional alternative to the math and science WASL.

Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, one of the main sponsors, is proposing a number of other alternatives to the WASL in that bill as well, such as passing an Advanced Placement test. He says it's possible that by — the state could find end-of-course exams don't work well, after all, and decide against using them in place of the WASL.

His is the kind of slow-track approach many are urging lawmakers to take.

"We really need to take some time and think this through," Rosier said.

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com