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Parent Empowerment Network organizes 7th Annual WALK AGAINST WASL
Kudos to the Parent Empowerment Network, longtime activists for children's well-being. Contribute to their Save a Senior project.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 6, 2008
Parent Empowerment Network organizes 7th Annual WALK AGAINST WASL
Contacts: Rachel DeBellis, Executive Board Member, Marysville, 360/708-9323
Carol Carpenter, Executive Board Member, Yakima, 509/901-4641
Julie Messerer, Executive Board Member, Aberdeen, 360/593-4457
Shelley Anderson, Area Coordinator, Spokane, 509/326-9295
Parent Empowerment Network/Mothers Against WASL will hold its 7th Annual, Mothers and Others Walk Against WASL, Friday, March 7th, in Olympia. Protesters will meet on the steps of the Capitol at 11:00 am and march to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The group will then march back to the Capitol, where members will deliver a petition calling for WASL changes (see below) to the governor’s office.
Major concerns about WASL:
Discrimination—WASL pass rates for low income, minority, and special needs students are less than 50%. Without the guarantee of statewide, equitable education services to students in all grades, a statewide uniform achievement bar (WASL) is morally and legally indefensible.
Inappropriate and subjective testing—WASL has been proven to be inappropriate to grade level. The test requires a state-mandated thought process and tests how students think rather than what they know.
Cost and format—WASL costs $72 per student to administer. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) ( http://www.nwea.org/assessments) costs approximately $15 per student. WASL’s paper and pencil, short and long answer format makes it cumbersome as a state assessment. Scores are returned months after administration. MAP and other computer-based tests can be returned in a timely manner and offer diagnostic information about individual students.
Use of WASL for class placement and graduation—The WASL Technical Report, developed by the state’s contracted testing company states, "Scores from one test given on a single occasion should never be used to make important decisions about students' placement, the type of instruction they receive, or retention in a given grade level in school." WASL is not a diagnostic test. WASL scores are currently used to determine placement in remedial classes, denying students the opportunity to pursue enrichment subjects such as art, music, technology, PE, and health. Students in the class of 2008 and beyond are required to pass WASL in order to graduate.
Use of WASL to determine curricula—Because WASL is being used to determine school and student success and failure, districts are adopting curricula to align with WASL requirements. This is not an appropriate educational practice. Curricula should be adopted to align with student and community needs, not the narrow goal of test passage.
Petition for Changes to the WASL
We, the undersigned, residents of Washington State, respectfully inform our Legislators and Governor Gregoire that we believe the following actions must take place in order to restore more appropriate and equitable public education in Washington State:
· Stop all consequences associated with WASL testing. WASL scores should not be used to
deny graduation rights to over 20,000 students in the Class of 2008. WASL scores should not be used to determine class placement. WASL scores should not be used to rank or label schools.
* Stop the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction from manipulating student numbers to improve WASL score reports. Every student in a given grade must be counted when reporting WASL scores for that grade.
* Replace the current WASL with an assessment system that provides useful and timely information to teachers, so that they may better design instruction that meets the needs of each student. Tests used in this system should be selected at the district level and approved by the state.
* Require that special populations of students be assessed in a manner that accurately measures their academic performance and progress. Testing must include appropriate accommodations.
* Guarantee that no state testing system denies students the right to a free and appropriate education.
By signing this petition, we, the undersigned, are not retreating from the goal of high standards or from the need to hold public schools in Washington State accountable to Washington State citizens. Students should be tested at the local level to record educational progress, but testing must be fair, appropriate, and useful. The current WASL and its uses are discriminatory and harmful to students, costly to taxpayers, and labor intensive for teachers and schools.
— Parent Empowerment Network
Press Release
2008-03-06
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