It's curtains down on the WASL. Kind of.

In just a short while, the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, will release results from the WASL taken this past spring.

As pointed out by Linda Shaw in the Seattle Times today, this was the last time students had to take the WASL as we know it.

Moving forward, SPI plans to implement a more streamlined test.

Tune in to TVW at 10 to hear what Dorn has to say about the latest WASL scores. We'll post a summary following his press conference.

UPDATE:
Dorn's office just posted the WASL results online. During the press conference he made it pretty clear that he's frustrated with some of the AYP (adequate yearly progress) provisions of the No Child Left Behind Law and its punitive approach towards schools.

Dorn's press release states:

As expected, results were mixed from the spring 2009 administration of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Scores in grades 3-8 and 10 mirrored 2008 results, increasing in seven subject areas, decreasing in seven and remaining unchanged in six.

Yet, preliminary results from AYP, the accountability arm of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, show that 1,073 schools moved into improvement status, up from 618 last year.

“Our state testing scores are flat, yet the federal system shows an additional 500 schools are failing,” Dorn said. “What is failing is No Child Left Behind. The law is completely unfair. While we know there is certainly room for improvement in our schools, it’s a statistical guarantee in this law that all of our schools will soon be in federal improvement status. That’s unrealistic.”

Where'd that WASL memo go?

Students in the class of 2008 seem to be falling victim to some serious miscommunication about WASL requirements.

Confusion over the math WASL graduation requirement has left hundreds of students around the state at risk of not graduating because they did not know they needed to complete the test.

Rep. Marko Liias says there are about 150 students in his Edmonds School District who might not graduate, and he has legislation in the works to help some of those kids graduate, as long as they've met all other requirements.

KOMO 4 reported on the story last night.

MSP + HSPE = WCAP: Dorn’s WASL proposal

If our new Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, gets his way, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (or WASL) will morph into what he calls the Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP) which will consist of two tests: the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) for grades 3-8 and the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE).

You can check out the details of his proposal for yourself here and here. Essentially Dorn wants to make the tests shorter, less expensive and more responsive by changing the format and increasing use of technology. His plan would make the new tests available to schools by 2010, with full implementation by 2012. Passing the HSPE would remain a graduation requirement.

Many aspects of Dorn's proposal closely mirror the work of the legislative work group that looked at ways to improve the WASL.

Rep. Pat Sullivan served on that work group and his reaction to Dorn's proposal can be heard here.

UPDATE:
TVW just posted Dorn's press conference online.