1. 1 To Test or Not To Test, That is The Question Washington State Assessment Conference Seattle Airport Hilton December 5, 2008 Peter Hendrickson, Ph.D. Everett Public Schools

2. 2 District Overview  12 th largest school district in the state 18,708 students  32.5% ethnic diversity  32% students qualify free/reduced lunch  26 schools 5 Middle Schools 4+ High Schools (3 comprehensive and 1 alternative), Denny JDC, Home School, Goal  787 Dreamliner, Verona, CVN 72 Lincoln

3. 3 9 th Grade Testing Participation Prior to Spring, 2008 ReadingMathWriting 2006927 students (63%) 611 students (42%) 909 students (62%) 20071308* students (92%) *14 pp 1261* students (88%) *0 pp 1564* students (91%) *12 pp

4. 4 9 th Grade Testing: Percent Meeting Standard (Who Tested) ReadingMathWriting 200684.6%58.1%67.5% 200773.2%39.7%78.5%

5. 5 Our Decision to Expand  Growing consensus across schools Many students met standard Strong teacher, admin appetite for fresh data  Parents see no penalty, only plus  No barriers from Administration, Board  Students: Get WASL monkey off my back!  OSPI reluctance wanes

6. 6 Our Plan—Much Autonomy  Test most 9 th Grade students in reading and writing Individual decisions made with ELL and disabilities  Near census math testing Wishing better grip on met/not met reasons

7. 7 Everett’s Process to 2008  Winter 2006 window opened Parent letter crafted  Fall 2006 saw no down side Fresh parent letter  Mailed parent letters in January 2007 “Connect Ed” deployed  Registered students in January Most registered at school Wished mass load available

8. 8 Everett’s 2008 Results  Percent Tested in Reading:92.8%  Percent Tested in Writing:92.6%  Percent Tested in Math:89.6%

9. 9 Number and Percent of 9 th Graders Who Tested in Spring 2008 161 6 49 101 24 842

10. 10 Number and Percent of IEP Students: Reading WASL Spring 2008 55% Tested 33% Met 84% Tested 84% Met

11. 11 Number and Percent of IEP Students: Writing WASL Spring 2008 55% Tested 41% Met 83% Tested 93% Met

12. 12 Number and Percent of IEP Students: Math WASL Spring 2008 40% Tested 3% Met 84% Tested 45% Met

13. 13 Percent of 9 th Graders Who Took & Met Standard Spring 2008 WASL

14. 14 Everett’s Writing—A Six Year Story  Literacy IFLs each secondary school Curriculum maps, instructional calendars Common writing benchmark assessments  Developed unique 4 X 4 writing rubric  Argumentative Paper grad requirement  Annual professional development for teachers Collaborative scoring local writing prompts Review of evidence beginning, middle year  Middle School focus essential >90% meet (1)

15. 15 Writing Scoring  Teachers score WASL, table leader  Teachers score fall, winter prompts Most as large group Anchor to 4 X 4 rubric Score others’ papers Data to Instructional Management System  Coached assessments  COE tutoring hones analysis

16. 16 By the numbers…  Before IFMs (Math Facilitators) Tested all students, regardless of math course being taken Some discouraged when should’ve allowed  Course taking relates strongly to scores  COEs reduce some anxiety  But, we’re still in big trouble

17. 17 Grade 9 Scores by Math Course

18. 18 Grade 8, 9 Math Correlation- Algebra 1 Students r=0.52

19. 19 Everett’s Reading Story  IFLs each secondary school Baseline, coached, benchmark assessments grades 6 to 10  Read 180 Tier 2, 3 intervention Increasing ELL enrollment, near 10% Students with IEPs, ELL, attendance issues remain  Silent, Sustained Reading Program Evaluation

20. 20 Correlation Grades 8 to 9 Reading All Students r=0.58

21. 21 IEP WASL Reading Gr 8 to 9 r=0.67

22. 22 Issues/Struggles/Concerns  Test four HS grades plus alternatives, options TGFSC*  Manage loosely coupled test protocols  All HS OSPI reports slippery above the test event roster level  Provide sudden data to stakeholders  * Thank God for Success Coordinators

23. 23 Fresh Opportunities  Rework grade 10+ curriculum…belay the WASL prep  Sharper focus on acceleration, intervention  Raise sights to college ready  Broaden genre for writing, reading  Exercise creative focus on math (as we did with literacy)

24. 24 Will the music play in 2009?  Mais, oui! The culture demands… OPT Window 9 Dec to 13 Jan  Letter to parents, process included  Work plans flex with weekly OTG (On Time Graduation) meetings  Contact :Peter Hendrickson, Ph.D. phendrickson@everettsd.org