Wei Yen - March 2007

In 2001, the Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct a longitudinal study of long-term outcomes for clients of the state’s public mental health system. The Legislature requested follow-up reports at two-, five-, and ten-year intervals.

This report documents changes in the study cohort from 2002 to 2005. It describes client retention rates and changes in clients’ mental health conditions, mental health service utilization, employment and wages, criminal justice involvement, and demographics.

Robert Barnoski, Wade Cole - February 2007

This report describes how student characteristics are individually associated with performance on the reading, writing, and math assessments of the 10th-grade WASL in spring 2006, and identifies groups of students with the lowest and highest met-standard rates.

Annie Pennucci - February 2007

This report reviews the three alternative assessment options authorized in Washington state and considers four additional alternatives.

Robert Barnoski, Wade Cole - February 2007

As part of this mandate, the Institute was instructed to identify possible barriers to student success on the WASL, one of which is non-completion of all three subject-area assessments.

This report identifies the characteristics of students in the class of 2008 who are slated to take the WASL but have not yet completed all three subject areas: reading, writing, and math.

Robert Barnoski - February 2007

The 2006 Washington State Legislature created the Promoting Academic Success (PAS) program to provide remediation for 10th-grade students who do not meet standard in one or more content areas of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

The Legislature also directed the Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of remedial programs funded through PAS. This report describes the results of the survey administered to the summer 2006 PAS instructors about their instruction. The survey was conducted to obtain data describing the different remedial strategies offered in the classes. A subsequent report will analyze the relationship between the survey data and WASL retest results.

Mason Burley - January 2007

In recent years, the manufacture and production of methamphetamine in small homemade labs has declined significantly. Changes at both the state and federal level have restricted the supply and availability of pseudoephedrine, a major precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Demand for methamphetamine, however, remains high. According to law enforcement officials, much of the methamphetamine available today is supplied by drug trafficking organizations from Mexico. As manufacturing of methamphetamine declines, trafficking and distribution is becoming a regional issue that states and the federal government must address cooperatively.

The 2006 Washington State Legislature asked the Institute to examine "criminal sentencing increases necessary under Washington law to reduce or remove any incentives methamphetamine traffickers and manufacturers may have to locate in Washington." This report looks at differences in sentencing laws for methamphetamine possession, manufacture, and distribution in Washington and neighboring states. The report provides opinions from experts in steps Washington may take to curb the availability and use of methamphetamine.

Jim Mayfield - January 2007

Washington State's Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender (DMIO) program, enabled by the 1999 Legislature, identifies mentally ill prisoners who pose a threat to public safety and provides them services and treatment up to five years after their release from prison.

WSIPP and the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training were directed by the legislature to evaluate the program.

Wade Cole, Robert Barnoski - January 2007

The study legislation also directed the Institute to “identify possible barriers to student success or possible causes of the lack of success” on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

Curriculum alignment, defined as the congruence among instructional materials, practices, and assessments, is a necessary ingredient of student success on the WASL. Without alignment, students face a potential barrier. Therefore, the Institute is investigating ways to analyze the extent to which curricula, instruction, and assessments are aligned.

This report summarizes the history of efforts to align the curriculum in Washington and presents results from a data analysis of reading and mathematics textbooks in Washington.

Robert Barnoski - January 2007

This is a copy of the Institute's presentation to the Washington State House of Representatives Education Committee on January 19, 2007.

Annie Pennucci, Robert Barnoski - January 2007

This is a copy of the Institute's presentation to the Washington State Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee on January 17, 2007.