The assessment has become a controversial topic in Washington state and many parents' groups have protested against it, claiming unreasonable expectations and unusual questions, and also disputing the fact that severely learning-disabled students are required to take the test.

The WASL's mathematics section has received intense scrutiny. The Essential Academic Learning Requirements curriculum framework was based largely on the controversial NCTM standards which elevated content-independent problem solving and invented arithmetic methods over teaching one correct method to achieve one right answer, and even published papers by researchers such as Constance Kamii in their yearbooks advocating that teaching traditional arithmetic methods was harmful to learning.

The first set of sample problems published in 1997 for the 4th grade contained problems involving unusually advanced material, often taught in the 7th grade, including skills such as indirect measurement, similar triangles, proportionality, and independent probability. The WASL promotes the new standards-based mathematics, which often removes instruction of concepts such as carry, average, and long division in texts such as "Investigations", but adds median and mode, and requires drawing labeled pie charts from data. The goal stated by OSPI was to have 80% passing, yet in 1997 not even Somerset elementary, one of the very highest scoring elementary schools, met this goal. In some cases, the passing standard for all schools was set higher than the best schools. The Partnership For Learning claimed that the 10th grade WASL only requires 8th grade level math, but many samples require mastering algebra, a topic some students will not take until college.

Currently, a large percentage of the student body does not pass one or more sections of the WASL, which many claim exerts too much pressure on teachers to focus on teaching the subject in the test rather than the class curriculum.

There are also concerns that teachers monitor students too closely during test administration. In May, 2005, a fourth grader was suspended for five days after declining to answer a creative writing question when the teacher noticed he had left the space blank and asked him to fill it out. Leaving the answer blank resulted in a lower test score, which affected the school's overall score. The principal suspended the student, but the superintendent immediately apologized and sought to revoke the suspension .Currently, teachers are not allowed to check over students' work at all.

Scores on the WASL can be highly variable. Many students who read at or above the college level (some in honor programs or Advanced Placement classes) have been given failing scores in the reading portion of the WASL. However, other students who have learning disabilities and read several years below grade level have received passing grades on the reading section[citation needed]. Student Learning Plans based on WASL scores in such cases will require college level readers to take remedial reading classes, while offering no support to those reading below grade level.

Another criticism is that the pass rate for the WASL test is low. Only 34% in 2003 and 39% (about 48,000 students) in 2004 passed all sections of the WASL. Students who fail the WASL can retake any section up to 5 times, or complete a different assignment in order to graduate.

State Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle questioned whether it is fair to require students to pass the WASL to graduate. The Washington Education Association also opposes using the WASL to deny opportunities to students.

Washington Assessment of Student Learning Information: Inside
[ Future Expansion ] [ Writing Assessment ] [ Initial Concept ]
[ Controversy ] [ 2006 Results ] [ High Minority Failure Rates ]
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