Peninsula: WASL scores bring mixed reaction

There was a mixed reaction as officials from across the North Olympic Peninsula began studying Washington Assessment of Student Learning results released Thursday.

Most Peninsula students improved their scores in math, reading and listening on the test given last spring.

Some schools and districts that saw improvement on the 2001-02 test lost ground in the most recent effort and some didn’t meet the state standards.

Scores were released by the State Superintendent of Instruction Terry Bergeson on Thursday afternoon.

The Washington Assessment of Student Learning, commonly known as the WASL, is the centerpiece of the state’s 1993 education reform law, aimed at raising the bar for Washington schools and students.

Fourth-graders, seventh-graders and 10th-graders take the test, which gauges students’ abilities in math, reading, writing and listening.

Other subjects, such as science, are being phased in over time.

All but three North Olympic Peninsula school districts fell below state standards for writing at all grade levels and in 10th-grade math. Many school districts improved scores from last year’s tests.

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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News.

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