State-Level Resources

OSPI Parent Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the regulating institution for all public schools in Washington State. This governmental office establishes educational guidelines and learning standards. They also gather yearly data on each school.

The following resources are also available from OSPI.

Reaching Higher: A Parent's Guide to Washington's Assessment of Student Learning (PDF 1.7 Mb)

This parent guide is designed to help you better understand the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning), the academic standards that the WASL measures, and how to evaluate your child's participation in this exam. You'll also find a short history of No Child Left Behind and graduation requirements for all high school students beginning in 2008.

WASL Released Items

WASL Testletts (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) are released every year by OSPI. These sample test items, along with test result data, allow you to compare your child's school to your school district, and even the state.

Graduation Requirements

Graduation Requirements links to information and resources regarding graduation requirements starting with the class of 2008.

Washington State Report Card

The Report Card website features information about public schools in Washington State. The site includes a report card for each school. You will find information about school demographics, student academic performance, and school staff. Use this resource to check out your child's school or any schools that you're considering sending your child to.

Information about EALRs

Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) guide teachers in their lesson planning. These statewide standards clearly define what students are expected to know and do at each grade level. This section of the OSPI website provides up-to-date information on EALRs by grade and subject.

Graduation Requirements

These graduation requirements must be fulfilled by all Washington graduates, beginning with the class of 2008. This OSPI resource explains these new requirements and what they mean for your child.

Partnership for Learning

Partnership for Learning provides easy-to-understand information about Washington's school improvement efforts. You'll find state education reform updates, research studies of schools that have organized to meet new standards, tips for talking with members of your school community and the media, and OSPI newsletter archives.

SchoolMatters

SchoolMatters provides rich information and powerful search and comparison tools to help uncover the stories behind the numbers, and further the discussion about how to improve student performance. Interactive training modules reside in the "Learning Center" section.