WASL scores improve

Last spring, thousands of students on Whidbey Island took the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

Like elsewhere in the state, the number of students passing the test increased this year.

One of the more dramatic increases is at Clover Valley Elementary School where nearly 25 percent more students passed the math section and approximately 20 percent more students passed the reading portion of the WASL.

“They were a school that was at risk of not meeting standard and they took that on,” Assistant Superintendent David Peterson said.

He cited the efforts of the teachers and the work of a math coach as factors in improving the scores at Clover Valley. The math coach helps students and teachers at Clover Valley and Olympic View elementary schools. The coach helps teachers with curriculum and she provides staff development to improve math instruction.

Districtwide, nine schools exceeded standards in reading writing and math. Nearly 80 percent of the fourth graders were proficient in reading, 56.9 percent were proficient in math and 63.2 percent were proficient in writing.

Nearly 74 percent of the seventh graders were proficient in reading, 51.5 percent were proficient in math and 74 percent were proficient in writing.

More than 72 percent of the sophomores at Oak Harbor High School were proficient in reading, 46.9 percent were proficient in math and 66.6 percent were proficient in writing.

On a statewide level, 79.2 percent of the fourth graders were proficient in reading, 60.6 percent were proficient in math and 57.5 were proficient in writing. Nearly 69 percent of the seventh graders

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