State officials say 364 middle schools will give Washington achievement tests online this spring.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has a long list of education reforms she wants the Legislature to approve to set Washington up to compete for federal Race to the Top dollars, including a plan to put experienced teachers back on probation after several years of poor evaluations.

They haven't found a single new dollar to pay for their ideas, but state lawmakers and education officials are pushing ahead with plans to start implementing education reform.

Results from last spring's statewide tests show Washington students are holding steady in their understanding of reading, writing and math, but their achievement is not high enough in many places to meet the federal government's requirements for adequate yearly progress.

The final scores from the statewide testing system known as the WASL indicate three quarters of the state's10th graders have passed. State Superintendent Randy Dorn says that's good news, but says he's alarmed by the resulting drop-out rate.

A test despised by a whole generation will be scrapped and streamlined. The state superintendent announced the newest details Thursday on the highly-touted replacement to the WASL.

While state lawmakers were debating plans to reform the state's education system, no one wanted to talk about how much the changes would cost and where the money would come from. They're talking now.

A massive, yet unfunded, reform to K-12 education, bigger checks for the jobless and expanded partnership rights for same-sex couples are among the policy accomplishments for majority Democrats in an otherwise austere legislative session.

Education leaders, including state schools chief Randy Dorn, appeared Wednesday at a news conference and lobbied the state Senate to pass the House's education reform package before the end of the week.

Teachers have long been pushing for a replacement to the WASL. But now some districts say Superintendent Randy Dorn needs to put the brakes on plans to go online with his replacement.

With tax revenue in decline and a financial outlook that some joke will get worse before it gets worse, state lawmakers have passed the halfway mark with their biggest challenge still unsolved: closing the budget shortfall while also looking after the poor and jobless.

Senate Bill 5414 proposes a number of WASL changes and makes one mention of special education students, urging the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to review the special education assessment and the appeals process.

The chairwoman of the state Senate education committee wants high school seniors and juniors to know she is paying close attention to their struggles with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.