House delays math WASL until 2013
BYLINE: SEAN COCKERHAM
The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday to postpone until 2013 the requirement that students pass a statewide math test to graduate from high school.
The House also said it wants to scrap the math and science sections of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in favor of allowing students to graduate if they pass end-of-course tests in at least algebra, geometry and biology.
Those decisions put the House at odds with the state Senate and Gov. Chris Gregoire, who have agreed to delay the need to pass the math test only until 2012.
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Rosemary McAuliffe of Bothell said she agrees with Gregoire that it's better for now to just study replacing the math and science WASL with end-of-course tests.
"Let's not go there yet," McAuliffe said.
There will now be negotiations between the House, Senate and governor over what should become law. There's not much time, as the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn for the year on April 22.
"This is a work in progress," said House Education Committee Chairman Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon.
This year's high school juniors were originally going to be the first required to pass the reading, writing and math sections of the WASL to graduate.
Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said the Legislature failed the state's students and now needs to make it right.
"Fifty percent of our students are failing the math WASL, and even more are failing the science WASL," he said. "We know we have to do something."
The requirement to pass the science part of the WASL to graduate was supposed to start in 2010. The bill that passed the House on Tuesday would postpone that until 2013.
There were also efforts in the Legislature to postpone the requirement to pass the reading and writing sections of the WASL. But those failed.
The issue of what to do about the WASL has been agonizing for the Legislature. The House was poised Monday to pass a bill that was essentially what the governor wanted. But support was thin until leaders agreed to the language calling for end-of-course tests to replace the math and science WASL.
"It's controversial," said Quall. "There's so much negativity around the WASL."
The House and Senate last month came out with separate bills aimed at allowing students to graduate by passing algebra and geometry end-of-course tests instead of the math WASL. Those bills also would have let students pass a biology test instead of the science WASL.
But there was a backlash over the idea of using multiple-choice tests to replace the math and science WASL. Science teachers also said there's a lot more to science than biology.
The bill that passed the House on Tuesday doesn't require the end-of-course tests to be multiple-choice, but says they could be.
It calls for the state Board of Education to look at end-of-course tests in other states and recommend what should happen here.
Unlike most standardized tests that are all multiple choice, the WASL is a mix of multiple choice, short-answer and extended-response questions.
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Sean Cockerham: 360-754-6093
sean.cockerham@thenewstribune.com
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thenewstribune.com
Posted online: 6:37 p.m. Tuesday