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Dear
Key Communicators:
While
the administration at Naselle looks closely at the performance of
their students compared to other students around the state, what
they have really honed in on this year is how our students that we
have had for at least three years performed. When the cohort group
(students that have attended Naselle for at least three years) is
looked at specifically, they did very well. Below is the cohort of
students that attended Naselle Grays-River Valley School District
for at least three years before they took the WASL.
Naselle
Grays-River Valley School District Cohort Results:
10th
Grade (Class of 2008) WASL comparison data
Of the 23 students
tested, 15 attended Naselle in the 7th Grade.
* Data
of the cohort group of 15 students:
READING
8 met the standard
in 7th grade (53.3%) 14 met the
standard in 10th grade (93.3%)
WRITING
8 met the standard
in 7th grade (53.3%) 13 met the
standard in 10th grade (86.6%)
MATH
3 met the standard
in 7th grade (20%) 7 met the
standard in 10th grade (46.6)
*7 of 15 cohort
members met the standard in all three areas-46.6% as compared to
only 6% in 7th grade
7th
grade Class of 2011 WASL comparison data
Of the 25 students
tested, 18 were in the cohort group that attended Naselle from 4th
grade or before. Of the 18 who were tested in the 4th
grade, 9 passed all three sections (50%), 12 of the same 18 students
passed all three sections in 2006 (66.6%.)
Data of the cohort
group of 18 students:
READING
11 met the
standard in 4th grade (61%) 15 met the standard in 7th
grade (83.3%)
WRITING
11 met the
standard in 4th grade (61%) 12 met the standard in 7th
grade (66.6%)
MATH
11 met the
standard in 4th grade (61%) 16 met the standard in 7th
grade (88.8%)
From
the WASL results recently posted for the Naselle Grays-River Valley
School District, we are both pleased and challenged. We have seen
tremendous progress in the performance of the cohort group, that is,
students that have attended Naselle for at least three years. There
is evidence of the hard work that students and staff have put in to
achieve these significant gains. It is also evident, that much work
remains to be done. With the high stakes of the WASL requirement to
graduate, we don’t want to see any student fall through the cracks.
Every bit of data represents not a number, but a child. In many
cases these scores reflect academic progress that have yet to be
achieved. In other cases, obstacles have been overcome, and
celebration is in order.
The
district is committed to providing a quality education for each
child, and these latest test results show us we are doing a great
job, yet still have a lot of work to do. We know that the longer we
have students with us, the better they do. As the accompanying
evidence shows, there are significant gains reflected in the cohort
group. We want to keep doing what we have done well, while at the
same time analyze how to be even more effective in the future. One
example of being proactive in regards to instruction is the board’s
decision last year to increase the math graduation requirement to 3
credits from the state minimum of 2. We know that most students
would not have the skills after only two years of high school math
to pass the WASL, or find success in today’s challenging job
market. Since passing the WASL is a requirement to graduate, this
becomes a critical issue. The K-12 also adopted new math
instructional materials this year that the teachers researched and
found to align more closely to the state standards than the previous
programs. This year, the K-12 will be adopting a new reading,
language arts, and English instructional materials as well as
reviewing curriculum and instructional practices in these areas.
We
would encourage parents to talk to their child’s teacher and find
out what they can do to support their child’s progress. There are
extended learning opportunities, such as summer school that hone in
on specific skills, and would benefit many of the students.
We
want ensure that each child in our care has the skills and
understandings they need to be productive citizens and lifelong
learners. We don’t want any to be left behind, and we’ll do our
best to help each one.
Sincerely,
Alan
Bennett
Superintendent
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