NASELLE – The report on the statewide administration of the current Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) battery of tests, printed in last week’s Chinook Observer, prompted this response from Naselle-Grays River Valley Superintendent of Schools Alan Bennett.

Bennett said, “At Naselle, we focused on math improvement in particular this year. We maintained our general emphasis on academics, but especially targeted math with a new K-12 adoption in curriculum. We have been taking an honest look at our students’ performance, as well as our teaching practices and have made appropriate adjustments.

“This effort on the part of teachers and students has paid off. When we combine the scores for grades four, seven and 10 and average them, we get an interesting snapshot of our overall performance. What we found is that we made 4.8 percent gains in reading, 18.2 percent gains in math, 5.13 percent gains in writing and 15.03 percent gains in science. These are overall gains and individual grade levels vary. We like to look at average gains because individual classes really vary, especially in a small school. If you are making overall gains, on a regular basis, you know you’re doing something right.

“We are very proud of the fine job our students are doing to improve their scores. We are also proud of the staff, who take seriously their responsibility to teach each child. The staff here do an excellent job of accepting students as they are, yet pushing them to become better.”

There is a fine combination of small school care and compassion, combined with a tenacious adherence to high standards. That is a tradition that has stood the test of time here, and we are building on it to the best of our ability. We appreciate the support of parents and community members who do so much to make our school what it is.”