By Donna Gordon Blankinship
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Results from last spring’s statewide tests show Washington students are holding steady in their understanding of reading, writing and math, but their achievement is not high enough in many places to meet the federal government’s requirements for adequate yearly pro- gress — and that has the top state superintendent crying, “Foul.”
Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn said that the 2009 Washington Assessment of Student Learning results, released Friday, demonstrate clearly that the federal adequate yearly progress system is not fair and needs to be changed.
Dorn said every school in the state of Washington could fail to meet standards by 2014 because of the way the federal system is set up.
Nearly 1,300 schools and 209 school districts did not meet the standard this year because they each missed at least one of 37 possible benchmarks — ranging from the third-grade math scores of Latino or Native American kids to a school’s attendance record.
Washington education officials noted that, starting this next school year, students will be taking new exams for reading, writing, math and science.
The spring WASL results show student scores went up in seven subject areas, down in another seven and didn’t change in six.
The test has been used to demonstrate whether state schools and school districts are meeting the federal government’s education accountability system, established by the No Child Left Behind law.
Dorn: Impossible standards
“Can we all use improvement? Absolutely,” Dorn said. But he doubts it is possible for every kid in Washington to reach the grade-level standards in every subject. “It’s an impossibility.”
In 2009, 1,285 schools did not make adequate yearly progress. Of the state’s 295 school districts, 209 did not meet the federal requirements. More than 200 schools missed the mark in just one category.
Schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years move into what is called “improvement” status.
Parents whose children attend one of the 1,073 schools in improvement, will get a letter from their school district explaining their options, which in some cases includes the choice of transferring to another school.
Alan Burke, deputy superintendent of public instruction, urged parents to contact their child’s school and find out more about the test results, and why the school isn’t meeting the federal standards, before jumping ahead and moving to another school.
In 2008, 1,268 schools and 209 districts did not make adequate yearly progress and 618 schools were in improvement.
“The positive aspect of No Child Left Behind is that it focused attention on public education and achievement,” Dorn said.
“What is wrong with the law is that it is punitive and statistically impossible to succeed. We have high standards, and under NCLB you get penalized for that.”
Mary Jean Ryan, chair of the Washington State Board of Education, expressed dismay at the WASL and adequate yearly progress data and urged renewed focus on student achievement, especially in science and math.
“The results today are sobering,” she said in the statement. “No one should rest easy after reading these statewide results. Fortunately, we can do something about it.”
Ryan said the state should seek federal money to improve curriculum and instruction and work harder on closing the achievement gap.
Under No Child Left Behind, each state established its own standards and tests. Dorn said Washington’s standards are among the toughest in the nation.
Most of the states, including Washington, have signed on to a new federally financed project to create common standards for the whole nation.
Dorn called that a move in the right direction, but he’s lobbying for more changes in Washington, D.C.
