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Imagine taking a test that goes on for two to three weeks. That's what thousands of 4th, 7th and 10th graders in Washington State are embarking on. It's the Washington Assessment of Student Learning Exam, also known as the "WASL," and a lot rides on the results.
Schools that don't do well could eventually be taken over by the state or shut down. Students and teachers are feeling the pressure. In the latest edition of "The Learning Curve" KPLU's Jennifer Wing looks at the aggressive steps one struggling Seattle middle school is taking to help students ace the exam.

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Jennifer Wing: The day is over at Aki Kurose Middle School in South Seattle. The halls swell with students stopping at their lockers heading home on a drizzly March afternoon. But a handful stay behind, including 12-year-old Simone Lee Johnson. She's putting in extra hours preparing for the impending state exam.

Johnson:"I'm kind of afraid about taking the WASL because I know I did well in 4th grade and since then I feel like I'm not at standards and I haven't learned a lot of stuff. So I kinda want to make sure I know everything I need to know."

JW:The WASL is not taken lightly here at Aki Kurose where it's estimated 60 percent of students enter the school one or two grades below in reading and writing. About 70 percent aren't where they should be in math. Jennifer Hodges is Simone's 7th grade teacher.

HODGES:"We serve populations that are behind and I want to make that clear, they're just behind. It's not an issue of intelligence. I mean they can do it, they're just behind. Making up for lost time is really difficult to do under the pressure of the test."

JW: The test quizzes math, reading, and writing. Last year at AKI about 10 percent of seventh graders met the standard in math and 25 percent did well in reading.

HODGES: The test quizzes math, reading, and writing. Last year at AKI about 10 percent of seventh graders met the standard in math and 25 percent did well in reading.

JW: Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon 10 students, mostly African American and Hispanic show up for the March Madness WASL Club.
Their faces, some tired, others eager for fresh air, look up to Hodges waiting for instructions. Today, they're doing a reading and writing exercise from an old WASL test on marine science.

HODGES: You're going to read an expository text about the octopus and then, this is where it gets a little more sticky, you're going to read a poem about the octopus, which is a totally different format than reading an expository text.
Teaching kids that skill of reading the questions, then reading the text and then referring back to it is really difficult."

HODGES CLASSROOM SOUND:So what you need to be thinking about is how questions about the poem and the expository text are going to be compared and contrasted. Ok? That's why it's important to look at the questions ahead of time Okay? Get out a writing utensil and we'll start.

HODGES: "A lot of kids think Okay, I read it, I either know the answers to the questions or I don't. Where as adults or advanced readers will go back until you find the answers that you need." JW: The constant task of getting students to where they should be academically and making up for lost time involves the entire school. Kids practice writing in gym class by keeping a journal. Math and Science are touched on in language arts classes. There's also heavy strategizing surrounding how the test will be given. No testing on Mondays because there are a lot of absences that day. And no testing after lunch. Teachers even organized a night meeting for parents and students to go over what can be done the hours before taking the exam…advice similar to what athletes are told before a big game.

HODGES: "Make sure that you have plenty of rest and sleep. Wake up early enough to have a decent breakfast. Because you certainly can't concentrate on an empty stomach. Right? Another important thing is to take a shower so you can feel fresh."

JW: The school is in WASL attack mode and students feel it. 12 year old David Santos is already fretting about when he'll have to take the test again in the tenth grade.

SANTOS: "They made a new rule that if you don't pass the WASL you can't graduate and colleges will see your test scores and not take you in."

CALDWELL: "I'm Bi Hoa Caldwell and I'm principal of Aki Kurose middle school. This is the first year I've seen seventh a grade class be as worried. Kids are concerned about not being able to get into college. Kids are concerned about not being able to get a job. Kids are concerned about people thinking they're stupid."

JW: Caldwell has her own worries. As it is right now, Aki Kurose is on a short list of middle schools in the state that aren't doing well.

CALDWELL: "Potentially there's the possibility of being reconstituted. Being shut down. Being converted to a charter school. State takeover. But I think Realistically the state and the feds don't want to start taking over schools. That would be a no win situation for everybody."

JW: For all of the angst, 7th grade teacher Jennifer Hodges and the rest of the staff firmly believes in the skills covered in the WASL. Things such as critical thinking, analyzing, giving your opinion and being able to write a summary.

HODGES: "But what I don't like is the constant negative feedback that the kids get. It's hard for your moral when all you read about is your school is being the least chosen by kids leaving elementary school or parents fearful that their kids aren't going to get a good education because of how well the kids are doing on the test. To me that's the scariest part.

JW: Hodges looks forward to the day when the WASL is given EVERY year in middle school. She thinks it will become more routine and less stressful for students. She also says the results will give teachers information they crave.

HODGES: "Where were the kids at 7th grade and where were they at the end of 8th grade. And that will give me as a teacher huge feedback. On my performance. Thing that I did well. There aren't many measurements that we have that show the impact we're making on students. Other than what we see on a daily ongoing assessment.

JW: Hodges is hopeful this year will be a turning point. Members of her March Madness WASL club will have to wait until the fall to find out whether all the extra hours and work did indeed pay off.

Jennifer Wing, KPLU News: Seattle