EDITORIAL: Fix for WASL Exams Isn't in House Bill

Mar 20, 08:55 AM

Current Headlines: By Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

Mar. 20--It's no wonder the WASL exams have divided people who otherwise stand united in their commitment to education.

Washington students are far better at reading and writing today because of the WASLs. Steadily climbing test scores prove it.

But no one is happy about math and science results.

Last year, only 51 percent of Washington's 10th-graders passed the math portion of the WASLs. Just 35 percent of the 10th-graders who took the science exam passed.

The urge to react is understandable. If nothing changes, nearly two-thirds of Washington's high school students will fail to graduate once they're required to pass the science test.

But the Legislature's scramble to do something -- anything -- to forestall what seems like a looming crisis threatens to take education a dangerous step backward.

The House and Senate approved bills last week delaying the requirement that students pass the math and science portions of the 10th-grade WASL to earn a diploma.

Exactly how long the wait will last isn't determined -- the two bills set different time tables. Given the huge percentage of failing scores, some delay is appropriate, whether it's a couple of years or a little longer.

The House bill, however, also would replace the WASL exams for math and science with ready-made multiple-choice tests on narrow subjects.

As written, the measure would result in lower standards. That's the wrong direction if we want Washington's high school graduates to compete in a global economy.

A provision in the House bill that would reduce the science WASL to an end-of-course exam for biology is especially troubling.

Schools don't need to prepare every student for a career in science, but a basic understanding of the scientific process and the major disciplines is required.

Science is integral to public life. Our knowledge of it affects everything from our choice for president to our choice of breakfast cereals.

We need to know our schools are preparing kids to participate in an increasingly complex and technically challenging world.

No one is arguing against change.

Gov. Chris Gregoire wants to spend nearly $200 million in the next two years to improve math and science instruction. Her plan calls for recruiting 750 new math and science teachers and retraining existing teachers.

Efforts also are under way to improve the tests. An external team of national math experts is reviewing the math standards at the request of state Board of Education. The same treatment for state science standards is next.

A different kind of test, such as the House is proposing, may even prove to be a better alternative for assessing math and science skills.

But changes that sweeping shouldn't be a knee-jerk reaction to poor test scores. Efforts to improve the WASL exams and student performance need to be given more of a chance.

The fact is, any standardized state exam will cut two ways -- improving some aspects of public education while forcing such a singular focus on test results that other learning suffers.

That won't change just because we dump the WASL for another style of test.

In the debate over the testing, we're losing sight of the goal -- preparing our children to be successful adults.

That can only happen if we set high standards for students and hold schools accountable.

Statewide tests aren't an end in themselves but a measure of whether schools and students are rising to the challenge.

Clearly, something needs fixing.

Let's just be sure the cure isn't worse than the ailment.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Tri-City Herald, Kennewick, Wash.

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