More than 50 students from West Seattle, Chief Sealth and Cleveland high schools who came close to passing the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exam are enrolled in a new Summer College program to boost their chances of passing the test when they retake it in August.

Seattle Public Schools has teamed up with the City of Seattle and North, South and Central Seattle Community colleges for a five-week program that offers classes in mathematics, literacy and "enrichment," such as beat poetry and television production. In all, about 500 students are enrolled in the program.

The school district hopes the extra help will give students a taste of college life and leverage to pass the portions of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exam they failed, said district spokesman Peter Daniels.

In 2000, the state board of education approved four new graduation requirements to take effect with the class of 2008. That class was chosen as the initial group that must pass the pass reading, writing and math subjects of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in order to graduate because it's the first group educated with the state's learning standards since kindergarten.

The exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 4, and a 3 or 4 is considered passing. Those who scored a 2 on any portion of the test were eligible for Summer College, which ends August 4. But students who fail the exam again won't be out of luck since they can retake the test up to four additional times.

Preliminary test results from the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction's Office have shown disappointing statewide scores in math, but gains in reading and writing. Math seems to be the trouble spot for Seattle students too.

The majority of students enrolled in Summer College failed the math portion of the exam, Daniels said.

"Math is our biggest concern right now," he said.

There was space for 140 students at South Seattle Community College, but only 71 students signed up, said Rosie Rimando, director of student outreach at the college. About 50 of those students are from West Seattle schools. Most seem focused on reviewing their math skills, she said.

Enrollment is lower than the district had hoped because tenth-grade students received their scores in early June, allowing families little time to plan for the summer program, said Rimando.

Students take classes all day, four days a week. Core subjects are taken in the morning followed by enrichment classes in the afternoon.

The school district is providing money for the teaching staff and the city is sponsoring the enrichment classes, supplies, food, transportation and room rent at the colleges.

Holly Miller, director for the Seattle Office for Education, said the city decided to help fund the program after reviewing the school district's report on Investing for Educational Excellence. That report, compiled by a district appointed community advisory committee, outlined recommendations on establishing goals for fiscal stability within the district.

This is the first year a college summer school has been organized, but the school district has high hopes that the classes will result in at least a 75 percent passing rate in all subjects when students retake the exam this August.

So far, site visits have been promising, said Miller.

"The students seem very engaged in the courses," she said. "They are small classes and the kids are getting great individual attention."

What effect the summer courses have on the student's academic performance after they retake the exam in August will be closely examined, Miller said. The city intends to continue to sponsor the program.

"We plan to debrief the students and instructors to figure out what aspects of the program worked and which didn't," said Miller. "It's more an issue of tweaking the program to make sure we have all the ingredients in place."

Daniels said students who scored lower than a 2 on the state exam usually need remedial help with coursework. Those students are put in contact with case coordinators, located at each high school, to encourage them to attend the district's annual summer school program. The district tries to ensure that students get the help they need in and outside of school hours, said Daniels.

In addition to local graduation requirements and meeting standards on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exam, students must complete other new graduation requirements, including developing a plan for meeting high school graduation requirements and a college, vocational or technical program.

Finally, graduating seniors are expected to complete a culminating project. This project could include a portfolio collection, studying topics of interest through a research paper or career internships,

With the new requirements, the pressure is on for Seattle students, and Daniels said the district hopes Summer College will at least help alleviate some of the "stress and anxiety."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com