Raising WASL math scores big challenge

MLHS freshmen required to take three credits of math to graduate

MOSES LAKE — Reading and writing are not typically the subjects high school principal Dave Balcom hears students concerned about.

But when it comes to math, many admit it is one of their weakest academic areas.

"For some people there's an automatic hurdle there," said Moses Lake High School principal.

Statistics at MLHS as well as the latest Washington Assessment of Student Learning data from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, indicate math is a struggling subject for many.

Three to four years ago, MLHS was 10 to 15 points below the state average on its math WASL scores, Balcom said.

2004-2005 WASL scores from tenth-graders at MLHS indicate 43.4 percent met the standard in math compared to 66 percent in reading and 60 percent in writing.

The state average for tenth-grade students in math during that same year is 47.5 percent.

Beginning with the class of 2008 ,students will be required to pass all three sections of the WASL in order to graduate.

Preventative measures to improve math scores in the Moses Lake School District have included offering four sections of algebra all year long. In the last two years pre-algebra was also offered all year.

Taking a serious message to seventh-grade middle school students as they progress to the high school level, has also been part of the process.

"If you don't pass the seventh-grade WASL you will be in a math class all year long whether it's algebra or pre-algebra," Balcom said. "We've just said if you don't meet the math standard we're going to give you a double shot in math."

One new requirement is the increase in math credit requirements at MLHS from two to three. That takes effect beginning with incoming freshmen for the 2006-2007 school year.

Michelle Price the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction with the Moses Lake School District said the district has hired a math coach at the secondary level to help improve student math skills.

Aligning teacher instruction with grade level expectations and undergoing curriculum textbook adoptions are other ways the district is addressing concerns with math.

A statement released from OSPI June 8 reported that while statewide students have indicated they know essential skills in reading and writing, math remains the most challenging subject.

According to OSPI of the 70,255 who took the mathematics test on the WASL, 37,866 met or exceeded the standard. The majority of improvements were seen in the progression of students out of the lowest achievement level where there was a one-third reduction.

In a statement released by OSPI, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson had this to say about the preliminary results: "Our state is a major force in the international economy. Mathematics is essential to the jobs that drive that economy. And it is also essential to successfully managing our daily, complex lives. The world has changed. It is time to face facts: Mathematics is for everyone."

Whether providing math all school year long is making any difference in student math scores, Balcom responds that it is too early to tell.

Using remediation to catch students up, however, is not a method Balcom agrees with.

"If you're going to have a student repeat and do the same things that they did I don't think that benefits," he said. "It's really a conversation about acceleration."