WASL Numbers for Tacoma (30. August 2007, 11:50 by Erik) ~ Hitting the books
The (in?)famous WASL numbers were released today for the state. The Tacoma School District numbers can be found here as well as links to other school districts in the state and even right down to a single school.
We’ve written about education a few times, including the Get Smart Tacoma group assembled in the spring.
So it’s worth noting that the WASL scores show Tacoma students are getting smarter (or getting better at testing, depending on your feelings about the WASL).
All scores for 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th graders are up over last year. 4th graders are down slightly in all subjects, and 5th graders tested better in math, but dropped in reading.
While many numbers went up by 2 – 4%, there were some big increases that stood out for the District. Rougly 12% more 3rd graders passed math than did last year; roughly 8% more 7th graders passed reading and roughly 10% more of them passed math than did last year.
Link to Tacoma WASL page
Previously on Exit133: Get Smart Tacoma and Learning Summit notes
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I just wish they would break it down by classroom so I could find out how my students fared.
5 | Posted by Mike Bottorff | Aug 30, 02:07 PM
When kids are taking these tests, is there any incentive to try to do the best you can? Do they pinpoint kids who do terribly and give them more help?
I remember taking these standardized tests in school 10+ years ago, but there wasn’t really any reason to try my best.
7 | Posted by JollyGreen | Aug 30, 04:42 PM
Well, supposedly WASL is a graduation requirement now, which differs from standardized testing in the past. Also, WA is offering some sort of transcript mark if a student scores exceptionally well (I don’t know the specifics), so this appears to be an incentive.
As for my students, I simply threatened them with some unique educational opportunities in my medieval dungeon, and since they believed me, it worked. ;-)
8 | Posted by Mike Bottorff | Aug 30, 04:56 PM
The WASL has sucked the life blood out of education and turned it in to sawdust.
9 | Posted by Shannon | Aug 30, 05:23 PM
every parent has a right to see his/her child’s test results. it can be arranged at a certain time during the year. I’ll make sure Derek posts something about it when the opportunity arises in the future.
10 | Posted by kc | Aug 30, 06:26 PM
I know parents can see results, but teachers can’t, at least not of their students in aggregate (unless this has recently changed).
Also, I’m not an avid WASL supporter by any means, but “The WASL has sucked the life blood out of education and turned it in to sawdust,” doesn’t really leave any room for discussion, let alone debate, does it?
11 | Posted by Mike Bottorff | Aug 30, 11:51 PM
Jonathan Kozol is one of the best people in America, and I trust what he has to say about education above just about anyone else. Obviously he’s a big opponent of NCLB and high stakes standardized tests, but to here him specifically mention WASL by name the other night was quite sobering.
“Jonathan Kozol is one of the best people in America, “
Black Commenters at Booker Rising have called him a racist for his greivance mongering.
The point of standardized tests is well, standardization. How does a Stadium diploma rate against a Charles Wright or Bethel High diploma? What do those graduates actually know, what can they actually do, other than please teachers and get good grades out of them? Parents and eventually employers want to know, and they have a right to know. Schools don’t belong to teachers or adminstrators, they belong to stuents and their parents, and how else are the parents going to know what their children are learning?
The problems with the WASL are not about standardized tests in general, they are about this particular test. A couple of math professors from California were reviewing various states’ standardized tests, and when they loked at the WASL, they found so many math errors in the questions themsleves, they gave up on evaluating it. Pathetic.
13 | Posted by Jim | Aug 31, 11:01 AM
Every Parent has the right to see her/ his students WASL scores. District teachers and administrators have access through TAD (Tacoma Assessment Database) to the scores of past and current students…including prior grade tests. OSPI has data down to individual item analysis for every exam. The data is there….it needs to be used to drive change.
Without standards there can be no accountability. The high stakes in high stakes testing should force accountability and systemic change.
14 | Posted by renovum | Sep 1, 08:38 AM
The News Tribune has beaten up on the school district all year. Their headline “WASL Math trips students” is obviously negative. Contained in the last paragraph on page 15 is a mention that math scores in Tacoma actually when up at every grade, bucking the trend in the state. In many grades the gains were double or triple the state. The News Tribune should be ashamed of their endless crusade against the district.
15 | Posted by Stanford Speck | Sep 1, 09:29 AM
“Black Commenters at Booker Rising have called him a racist for his greivance mongering.”
Um, Booker Rising isn’t exactly a reputable source for information. Calling Kozol a racist because he writes books drawing attention to racism but happens to be white is ridiculous.
“What do those graduates actually know, what can they actually do, other than please teachers and get good grades out of them?”
That’s all well and good, but when these tests are used as ways to generalize about whole schools, and in many cases, cut funding from schools that perform poorly, you’ve got a problem. When you’ve got a system that repeatedly takes money away from the very schools that need it the most, you’ve got a bigger problem. When these schools are disproportionately schools with a higher than average number of children of color, you’re committing one of the greatest of atrocities: Institutionalized racism. These systems most often don’t aim to be discriminatory, but by their design they reproduce stratification. NCLB and high stakes standardized tests exemplify this perfectly, and are great tools of repression.
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