ST. BRENDAN PARISH SCHOOL

September 3, 2008 2008 WASL Scores

Dear School Parents,

Last spring our 4^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders took the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Thank you to the school staff, students, and parents for their devotion and hard work. These excellent scores demonstrate strong student learning and teamwork.

One hundred percent (100%) of the 4^th graders met the state Reading, Writing, and Math standards! This is an outstanding achievement! Thank you to our first-rate primary teachers and Instructional Aides: Mrs. Partington, Mrs. Scheuer, Miss Mitchell, Miss Constantino, Mrs. Babb, Mrs. White, Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Vandenberg, and Mrs. McQuillan.

Ninety-six percent (96%) of our 7^th graders met the state Reading standard, 100% achieved the Writing standard, and 80% for Math. Thank you to Mrs. Schwartz and Mrs. Riley for the 7^th graders’ accomplishments! Our math teachers are developing a school-wide Math improvement plan to align our curriculum to the new Math state standards.

For the first time last April, our 8^th graders took the Science WASL. The assessment covered a wide-range of materials from our 5^th through 8th grade curriculum including Science systems (Physical, Earth, and Life Sciences), inquiry methods, and applications. The students did very well in the application section. Twenty-one 8^th grade students (72%) met the state standard, and another four students were only a few points from meeting standard. Thank you to Mr. Fairbank for administering the Science WASL. Using the assessment information, he will make some teaching adjustments to ensure all students are prepared for high school Science and the 10^th grade Science WASL. The 8^th graders will continue to take the Science WASL.

Parents of last year’s 4^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders should receive their child’s WASL scores in the mail this week. Looking at a variety of assessments is the best way for teachers and parents to determine a child’s academic progress. No single test can tell us everything about a student’s performance. Parents can access the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction’s web site at www.K12.wa.us for more WASL information. Thank you, Mrs. Lunn

WASL 2008: Percent of students who met state standard

4^th Grade		7^th Grade		8^th Grade
Reading	100%	Reading	96%	Science	72%
Writing	100%	Writing	100%
Math	100%	Math	80%