Evaluation and Reflection

WASL tests the state as well as students

By Linda Shaw

Seattle Times staff reporter

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES

To honor students who passed reading, writing and math on the WASL last year — and to inspire this year's sophomores to do well — the Federal Way High School staff hung these fliers from the ceiling of the school's main hallway.

Related

* 10th-graders feel the pressure as make-or-break WASL looms
* Learning from last year's test scores: Who's struggling the most (PDF)
* Timeline: Growing up with the WASL (PDF)
* Talk about it: Share your thoughts in our WASL forum

Twenty sophomores sit in twos and threes, huddled over math problems. A few months ago, they were in drama class, or P.E. or other electives at Chief Sealth High. But when the West Seattle school offered a course to help them pass the exam they need to graduate, they signed up.

They switched because they're nervous about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), their parents are nervous, or both. After 13 years, more than $100 million in testing costs and lots of debate, Washington sophomores are 30 school days away from the biggest test of their lives.

They are the first class in this state to face a graduation test — something students in about half the states already face, or will face soon. Here, they will be expected to pass reading, writing and math on the WASL sometime in the next two years to earn their diploma. Or, if they fail twice, they can demonstrate their skill on some equally difficult but yet undefined alternative.

"How come they picked us?" laments Domonique Williams, one student in the Sealth class, echoing a sentiment that's heard frequently from sophomores these days.

Members of the Class of 2008 and their parents aren't the only ones with worries. More than a reflection on individual students, this year's results on the 10th-grade WASL are a test of what the state has — or hasn't — accomplished since the education-reform act was passed in 1993.

Did the schools do enough to prepare students? Did state lawmakers provide enough dollars to help schools do that? Is the WASL a good test of what students know? Does it set the bar too high — or too low? Is it fair to ask all students to pass it — even those just learning English, or those with disabilities?

All these questions and more continue to be debated in classrooms, in Olympia hearing rooms, among teachers and students.

Judging by last year's WASL results, none of the concerns will disappear soon.

Last spring, fewer than half of the state's 10th-graders passed the test's three key subjects. (The fourth — science — won't be a graduation requirement until 2010.) Even optimistic projections put the failure rate this spring at around 40 percent, meaning roughly 34,000 students would have to face taking the test at least a second time.

The statistics for some groups of students cause even more concern. For example:

• More than three-quarters of the state's poorest students failed reading, writing or math on last year's 10th-grade exam. Thirty percent failed all three subjects.

• Half of the state's African-American and Hispanic students didn't even come close to passing the math section of the 2005 exam, scoring a one on a four-point scale.

• Sixty-one percent of students who are learning English — excluding those who have been in the country for less than a year — failed all three subjects last year. So did 60 percent of special-education students who weren't exempt from taking the test.

• Passage rates vary among school districts, but even the richest aren't close to 100 percent. In Mercer Island, for example, 20 percent of last year's sophomores failed at least one of the three main subjects.

Many hope the passing rates will rise significantly over the next year or two for a couple of reasons. First, 10th-graders now have a reason to take the test more seriously. Students will be able to retake the exam (or parts of it) up to four more times for free — and more if they pay for it.

Schools have started or plan to step up efforts to help students who fail. The Federal Way School District, for example, provided special classes and summer-school programs for all the students in the Class of 2008 who failed the math or reading parts of the WASL when they were in seventh grade.

District officials expect nearly three-quarters of their 10th-graders to pass the reading section of the test this spring, up from the 54 percent who passed in seventh grade. They project 62 percent will pass math, up from 39 percent. And they hope to raise those numbers even more in the dwindling number of school days before the reading and writing WASL begins in March. (The math and science sections will be given in April.)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson is marking the days, too, but she's counting the roughly 850 between now and when the Class of 2008 is supposed to graduate. In that time, she's confident schools can get students the help they need — starting with the $38 million to $40 million she's sure the Legislature will approve this session for extra summer help.

In the two WASL prep classes at Sealth, teachers gave a practice test shortly after the class began in mid-November. The results weren't surprising for students who sought extra assistance, but they weren't promising. Of 36 students, six scored high enough to indicate they could pass the math part of the exam. That news quieted the room.

"Dang," one student finally said.

Peter Russo, a student teacher helping with the class, told those who scored at Level 2 (levels 3 and 4 are passing) that they were on the dance floor, in the key, in the ballpark. To the Level 1 students, he was encouraging but direct: "You have a lot of work to do."

Value still debated

In theory, the WASL is supposed to ensure that no student graduates from high school without strong skills in reading, writing and math. Supporters, including Gov. Christine Gregoire, argue that requiring students to pass the exam will inject more meaning into a diploma they say has become pretty thin.

Critics, including the state PTA and the teachers union, counter that the WASL was not designed to evaluate individual students, and no single test should determine anything as important as graduation. They worry that putting such high stakes on the WASL will do more harm than good, including raising the dropout rate.

Some teachers and parents also say the WASL gets too much attention, crowding out subjects and skills it doesn't cover.

"I don't like all the focus to be on one test," says Tammy Jahrman, a math teacher at Meadowdale High in Lynnwood.

The stress level this year is clearly climbing.

"People talk about it all the time. It's such a big deal," says Zenash Kasa, a sophomore at Renton's Hazen High, who says her mother has hired a tutor to help her with math.

Though members of the Class of 2008 grew up with the WASL — they were preschoolers when the law passed, and have taken the fourth- and seventh-grade versions of the exam — there's been enough uncertainty that the graduation requirement hasn't always seemed real.

"I think the kids — and some of the teachers — thought it might not actually happen," said Ben Graeber, a language-arts teacher at Hazen.

Graeber recently asked students what questions they have about the test. They had so many he spent nearly a half-hour just writing them down.

The students wondered how hard it is, who grades it, why they have to pass it. They asked whether they had to pass science (not until 2010), and some mistakenly thought they had to write every answer in cursive.

"I was surprised at how scared they are," Graeber said.

Some teachers consciously work to ease the rising tension.

"If we panic, they panic," says David Vinson, who teaches language arts at Federal Way High School. "We have to say, 'You can do this.' Because I really think they can."

The WASL prep class at Sealth started earlier than originally planned. Greg Fritzberg, who teaches education at Seattle Pacific University, originally approached the school about offering it next fall, after students know how they scored on their first try at the test this spring. But in conversations with Sealth Principal John Boyd, they thought, why wait?

Fritzberg's views of using the WASL as a graduation requirement are mixed, primarily because he's not sure there has been enough support to help students be ready. But he feels a moral obligation to help this very first class prepare for the exam.

"No matter what you think about it," he says, "we shouldn't be missing days and hours to help kids who are facing it."

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Prewrite:
I believe Evaluation and Reflection means to me is to view and to respond. The actual meaning for evaluation according to dictionary.com is to study of appraising, and the meaning of reflection is a fixing of the thoughts on something. What this applies to the article above is about how WASL is and how it affects peoples' lives, regardless of their social status or anything else.

Postwrite:
Although we didn't have class that day, I still have a clear idea about what the topic is for this blog. Evaluation is to study someone, or something. Reflection is the something to help fixing someone by giving them opinion.

Application:
The way that I use evaluation and reflection in my daily life as a PSEC student is that I active listen to what people say, and then I evaluate as they are speaking. I reflect when I am done and look at my evaluation to see if I understand everything that I had been informed.

What to do for college-bound child

By Jan Faull

Special to The Seattle Times

More Jan Faull

As your child heads off to college, you'll likely feel a sense of pride and relief that he is eagerly fleeing the nest for higher education, and some moments of sadness as you know you'll miss the child. Guilt may even set in for unfortunate things you've said or done over the years.

Your young adult, on the other hand, is probably filled with excitement and possibly apprehension. "Will I get along with my roommate? I've always had a room to myself; I can't imagine sharing a bedroom with anyone." "What will my classes and professors be like? How will I manage the workload?"

As your child packs and prepares for this academic adventure, don't burden her with your emotions. Go ahead and say you'll miss her, but keep the focus off yourself and ask in an upbeat fashion, "Need some help?"

The most unique aspect of parenting is that you work yourself out of a job. But it has not been for nothing. Research indicates that children who have been well connected at home make an easier adjustment to college life than those disconnected from their parents. You've been involved in the joys and rigors of parenting day-by-day and soon it will be over, or will it?

Before dropping your son or daughter at the dorm, be sure to say, "I love you. I believe in you. I won't stand in your way. I'll send money if you need it. Call as often as you like." Once you are home, be prepared for a barrage of phone calls. How you manage these is the key to your new role of parenting this young adult from afar.

When your college student calls because he's mad at his roommate, missing home, overwhelmed with academic pressure, not fitting in with dorm or social life, or sensing this college is just not right for him, realize that he's doing so because he knows it's safe to express his outrageous thoughts and feelings to you. He feels pressure to remain cool around his college buddies; therefore, the likely people to share this bewildered side with are good ol' Mom and Dad, who love him and won't judge him, no matter what.

Hold off offering lots of advice. Ask, "What's going on, how are you feeling?" Use active listening: "Boy, you sound really stressed." Or reiterate her outrage: "Your roommate and her boyfriend were making out on her bed and you were right there in the room? I don't believe it!" Ask your son or daughter, "What are you going to do? Is there anything I can do to help?"

You'll only escalate your child's emotions by saying, "Stop crying. You're making too much of this. Settle down." Although you might be right, those lines will probably anger your child rather than quiet her down; she may abruptly end the conversation.

If you really believe that your child, because of the frequency of the calls and the intensity of his emotions, can't pull his head out of this troubled water, encourage him to seek counseling or mental-health resources available on the campus. You may also need to say, "You can come home if you need to."

Usually these emotional phone calls are nothing more than a temporary response to being overwhelmed with the changes college life presents. Your conversation may end with no resolution. The purging of emotions, however, does provide a distinct benefit: Your freshman's mind clears enough to manage the situation for herself. At the end of the phone call, you'll feel worse, your child most likely better. If you call the next day, she's probably doing just fine.

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Pre-Write:
This article that I had chose shows how to treat, and act to your college-bound child. The article has a section in it where it shows how you should act with your child when they are having trouble. You need to use active listening to analyze the problem, and try to help them. The definition of active listening is to listen to one and to analyze and ask for feedback.

Post Write:
I do not think we had the class this week, but other than what we know during the class, I had learned that people need to practice talking. Active listening is important because we need to use it in the day to day lives. In the article, it is to show how parents should be actively listening to their children.

Application:
Active listening is good to be used in class, and at school because we need to be actively listening because we can get information better that way. This is a great example of active listening because the parent needs to get feedback from the child so that they can somehow help.

Volunteering hits 30-year high in U.S.

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who volunteer to mentor students, beautify neighborhoods and pitch in after disasters is at a 30-year high, fueled in part by a boom in teen participation, a new study says.

The report by the Corporation for National and Community Service tracked volunteer rates since 1974. It found that more than 1 in 4 adults — or 27 percent — give time to their communities, a jump from a low of 20.4 percent recorded in 1989.

Teens aged 16 to 19 saw the biggest jump, with 28.4 percent volunteering compared to just 13.4 percent in 1989.

Service among midlife adults (ages 45 to 64) and senior citizens (ages 65 and over) remained strong at 30 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. The study, which was to be released today, credits higher education levels, delayed childbearing and longer life expectancy.

"We are encouraged that emerging studies consistently show increased volunteering by young Americans. If supported properly, we may be on the cusp of a new civic generation," said Robert Grimm, director of research and policy development at the corporation.

The group, which promotes volunteering through federal programs such as Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, attributed increased volunteering among youths to a rise in service-learning programs in schools and colleges that combine classroom study with community work.

Increased altruism in response to disasters such as the Sept. 11 attacks also have played a role, Grimm said.

The report analyzed volunteering rates in 1974, 1989 and 2003-2005, using information collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It also found:

• More adult volunteers serve through religious organizations (35.5 percent) than through other types of groups such as schools (24.6 percent).

• Baby boomers are volunteering in greater numbers, accounting for a 37 percent increase in participation among midlife adults since 1989.

• Older adults tend to volunteer more intensively, serving 100 or more hours a year. In contrast, most teens (67.9 percent) contribute more sporadically, amounting to 99 or fewer hours a year.

"America needs more volunteers to mentor and tutor at-risk youth, care for seniors, respond to disasters and meet a wide range of other critical needs," said David Eisner, CEO of the organization.

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Pre-write:
What I thought of this article was that it is amazing how people, even more so teens are participating in community service more than ever before. Even though this article does not explain about what mentoring is, it shows how people are now working for the better. Mentoring is defined by served as trust by counselor or teacher. What that means to me is that mentoring is a form of teaching through someone else with knowledge. Even people like you and me can be a mentor, by helping a child or adult and giving a part of our day to touch someones life. People began doing community service which is a good way to show the affect of mentoring, and how it has an impact on our life.

Post-write:
I do not believe we had class that day, but from what I understood, mentoring is extremely important because we need mentoring on a day to day life because mentoring is to teach someone that you know to others, something like what teachers do.

Application:
Mentoring is important, during school we need to practice mentoring, teachers help the students by giving us information that we know, we also have mentor groups which gives people a chance to talk to the teacher and discuss problems, or learn.