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Washington Assessment of Student Learning |
WASL Testing Information
Washington State's Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has put together two useful brochures to help you understand the thinking behind and make-up of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The Reaching Higher publication is designed to help parents learn more about the WASL’s place in our long-term efforts to raise learning standards and student achievement, and to understand and interpret their children’s WASL scores. The other publication, Aiming High, came out shortly after the Reaching Higher brochure and is intended to be used as a supplement, providing a fresh and practical look at WASL preparation and how to access resources and materials related to the WASL. To view these documents online please choose one of the following links (you will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader to view these documents). If you would like a hard copy of either of these publications please contact Travis Hanson, Director of Curriculum and Technology, at the Deer Park District Office.
Overview of the Washington State Assessment of Student Learning
The state-level WASL assessments require students to both select and create answers to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and understanding in each of the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs)--from multiple-choice and short-answer questions to more extended responses, essays, and problem solving tasks.
Student, school, and district scores are reported for the operational assessments. The state-level operational test forms are standardized and "on demand" meaning all students respond to the same questions, under the same conditions, and at the same time during the school year.
All of the state-level assessments are untimed; that is, students may have as much time as they reasonably need to complete their work. Guidelines for providing accommodations to students with special needs have been developed to encourage the inclusion of as many students as possible. Special need students include those in special education programs, those with Section 504 plans, English language learners (ESL/bilingual), migrant students, and highly capable students. A broad range of accommodations allows nearly all students access to some or all parts of the assessment (see Guidelines for Inclusion and Accommodations for Special Populations on State-Level Assessments).
Classroom teachers and curriculum specialists from across Washington were selected to assist with the development of the questions for the state-level assessments. Two content committees were created at each grade level--one for reading/writing/communication and one for mathematics. Working with content and assessment specialists from the Riverside Publishing Company (the primary assessment development contractor), these committees defined the test and item specifications consistent with the EALRs, reviewed all questions prior to pilot testing, and provided final review and approval of all questions after pilot testing. A separate "fairness" committee, composed of individuals reflective of Washington's diversity, also reviewed all questions for words or content that might be offensive to students or parents, or might disadvantage some students for reasons unrelated to the skill or concept being assessed.
Literally hundreds of questions were developed and pilot-tested to create a "pool" of questions. This allows the creation of new forms of the assessment each year by sampling from the pool. Statistical "equating" procedures are used to maintain the same performance standard from year to year and to provide longitudinal comparisons across years even though different questions are used.
The state-level assessments in reading, communication, and mathematics include a mix of multiple-choice, short-answer, and extended-response questions. Having a large pool of questions provides the opportunity to vary the kinds of questions from year to year so that a particular question format (e.g. multiple-choice, short-answer, or extended-response) is not always associated with the same EALRs.
This information is taken from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction's website - for more depth and analysis of the WASL as well links to released test questions please visit www.k12.wa.us/assessment/WASL/default.aspx
WASL Resources
GUIDELINES FINALIZED FOR PARENT ACCESS TO WASL BOOKLETS
OSPI has finalized the procedures for parent requests to view their children’s WASL test booklets, as provided by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (commonly known as FERPA). The guidelines, as well as test booklet viewing request forms, are posted at http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StudentRecordRequest.aspx .
There are two important dates to note. OSPI will accept requests from parents to review 2004 WASL test booklets through December 1, 2005. They will accept requests from parents to review 2005 WASL test booklets through February 1, 2006.
Throughout summer and fall of 2005, local district staff have provided OSPI with a great deal of assistance in fulfilling viewing requests while guidelines have been finalized. All future test viewings will continue to be conducted at local school district offices, though initial parent requests must continue to go through OSPI. The OSPI assessment team will continue to coordinate viewing logistics with local district staff. Again, initial parent requests to view their children’s WASL test booklets should to directly to the OSPI assessment office at assessment@k12.wa.us or 360-725-6348.
WASHINGTON STATE & SCHOOL REPORT CARD - OSPI is constantly adding resources and information to the assessment section of their website. The "school report card" has gone through many revisions and, in recent releases, it has developed into a very useful tool for analyzing school testing and demographic data. Using the web interface, you can choose to view state data, district data, as well as individual building level data - for all years back to 1997, in the various grades and content areas that tests have been administered. You can even compare your school district with others of like size or with similar demographics. This is a powerful tool for data analysis; click on the link to visit - Washington State & School Report Card.
ITEM ANALYSIS - If you're interested in seeing how students in the state, the district, or in a particular school did on a specific strands of the WASL test, this is the web site for you. Using this tool, you can look at what particular questions of the WASL test were testing for (the "learning target"), as well as how students did on that question (the actual test questions are not in this section, just the learning target - if it's released test questions you're after, move on to the next section). Click on the link to try this out - OSPI's Item Analysis interface.
RELEASED WASL QUESTIONS - This component of the OSPI WASL website allows you to download and view released test items from past WASL tests. In terms of knowing what types of questions are on the WASL, this is the best resource available. Actual test questions are shared, but, more importantly, in many cases actual answers and scorer annotations are included. This is an incredible resourse for developing an understanding of how the state's learning targets are being assessed via the WASL. Click on the link to see these resources - Released Test Items.
Upcoming Changes to the State Assessment System (updated Feb. 2009)
Proposed testing changes presentation - State Assessment Changes Frequently asked questions regarding upcoming changes - 2009 Change FAQ
Created on 09/26/2005 11:34 AM by hansont
Updated on 02/11/2009 06:56 AM by hansont
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