Students across the state are holding steady on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, but local results are mixed.

Results of the statewide 2008 WASL were released Tuesday. The statewide scores show some ups and downs, but students in most grades generally had similar passing rates this year and last.

The spring's statewide 2008 results show fifth- and eighth-grade passing rates improved in all subjects. Third-, fourth- and seventh-graders have lower passing rates in reading and math.

Tenth-graders improved their passing rates in reading, writing and science but dipped slightly in math.

Local school district officials cautioned against drawing conclusions based on test results from one grade’s results from year to year.

“Probably the least helpful to us is looking at aggregated scores,” said Carl Bruner, superintendent of the Mount Vernon School District. “District-wide, it tells us some things, but it skims the surface.”

Schools use data from the same group of students in the same school year after year to improve student learning, Bruner said.

Cathey Frederick, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for the Mount Vernon district, said some groups of students perform better on the test than others.

“What we know about kids is each group of kids is different,” she said.

The district is focusing on some of those differences to improve learning district-wide.

Students in fifth and sixth grade at Centennial Elementary School in Mount Vernon were placed on individual student improvement plans, Frederick said. Students became competitive and attempted to surpass goals that teachers set for them, she said.

“They really got into it,” she said.

As a result, fifth graders at Centennial performed roughly 4.7 percent better than last year’s students, she said. Likewise, 7.5 percent of Centennial’s sixth graders performed better on the math test than last year’s students.

For more information, or to view specific school WASL scores, visit the OSPI Web site. From there, you can select individual school districts and go to the school level through a drop-down menu.

• Kate Martin can be reached at 360-416-2145 or at .