A. Example questions in each grade level and subject matter are included in the publication, Reaching Higher, which is available through the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The tests are not released publicly because many of the same questions will be used on future tests. Because the WASL is a relatively new assessment, there are a limited number of test questions available. Each year, hundreds of new items are piloted by students in Washington state so that eventually, old questions can be released to the public and replaced with new, well-piloted items. The state has compiled a list of accommodations to the WASL available for students with disabilities, including additional time, special testing environments and variable testing formats, such as Braille.
Specific guidelines are available to help districts make decisions about accommodations .
IEP teams choosing to utilize alternate assessments determine the most appropriate type of assessment tool to be used. IEP teams may opt to use a commercially available test to measure progress in reading, mathematics, writing or listening. This fall, OSPI will conduct a review of the commercially available tests, selected by a panel of IEP teams, and plans to correlate these tests to the EALRs. If an IEP determines that any component part of the WASL is inappropriate for the student, and the commercially available tests are also inappropriate, then a portfolio assessment may be used. A. Students with special needs who use computers as an accommodation during the course of the school year are allowed to use them on the state test.