For Early Admissions, Washington Pre-College Test Is Available At UW

Q.: I read the April 4 article about the gifted education program for students admitted early to the University of Washington. I was wondering where or how you can get in to take the Washington Pre-College Test mentioned there.

- S.H. via e-mail

A.: If you're interested in taking the test, call the Halbert Robinson Center for the Study of Capable Youth at the University of Washington at 206-543-4160. If the test is taken on one of the center's regular monthly testing days, the charge is $35. Other testing times can be arranged at a cost of $75.

According to Nancy Robinson, the center's director, the Washington Pre-College Test was required in this state for a number of years as part of the application process for Washington four-year colleges. Today, the primary users of the test are the UW Center and the state of California in conjunction with its early college entrance programs.

Like the SAT, this test was originally designed for 11th and 12th graders. It consists of four verbal sections (vocabulary, reading comprehension, English usage and spelling), two math sections (reasoning and achievement), a spatial-reasoning section and a mechanical-reasoning section. There are no prerequisites.

The reason to take the Washington Pre-College Test would be to apply to the Summer Stretch program, fast-paced high school-level classes for highly capable students just finishing seventh, eighth or ninth grades or to apply to the Transition School/Early Entrance

Program. Otherwise, Robinson says, it makes more sense to take the nationally administered SAT or the American College Test (ACT).

Q.: I'm an elementary-school teacher, and nobody has been able to tell me where the funding is coming from for the new WASL tests (Washington Assessment of Student Learning). I also don't think it's fair that my special-ed students' test scores are averaged in with other students' scores, lowering the average and making me look ineffective as a teacher.

- B., Bainbridge Island

A.: The Washington Assessment of Student Learning test will be administered to about 243,000 schoolchildren between today and May 7. It will cost the state about $5.6 million to administer and score the test, according to Marc Frazer, of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. At about $23 per test, that is less than one-half of 1 percent of the state's per-pupil expenditures.

Money for the WASL comes from the state's $4.4 billion annual education allotment from the general fund.

Special-education and bilingual students' WASL scores are averaged in with other students' scores. This policy stems from the belief that all students can succeed and that educators should be held accountable for student success. There has also been concern that some schools may be tempted to artificially boost their scores by exempting low performers. To prevent this, there are strict guidelines about which students must take the WASL. Any exemptions must be documented and a testing alternative for the student must be agreed upon.

Education Q & A is a regular Monday feature in The Seattle Times prepared by Times education reporters. Call in your questions to our Education Hotline at 206-464-3339, or write to Education Q & A, c/o The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111; fax to Education Q & A at 206-464-2261; or e-mail to schools@seatimes.com

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