Faking the Grade

I’ve spoken about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) test here before. It is basically a state approved standardized test at the 10th grade level that all students must pass before they can pass. They get multiple tries per year starting in their sophomore year to take and re-take and re-re-take the test until they pass.

But because of the abysmal state of education in Washington State, with the students unable to pass the WASL with any regularity, the state government keeps talking about changing and even ditching the test altogether. Instead of making the students learn up to the standards required, they’d rather just lower the standards and pat themselves on the back.

Because they’re all about the kids.

(Barely) Governor Gregiore has now decided to lead the charge to make Washington State parents believe that less is more (Less test = More students passing the test).

Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday that she will propose to the Legislature that students will not have to pass the math section of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning to graduate from high school at least until 2011.

Students in the classes of 2008, 2009 and 2010 should either pass either the WASL math test or take and pass math classes to graduate, the governor and Superintendent of Public Instruct Terry Bergeson proposed.

The graduation requirements for passing the reading and writing sections of the WASL would not be affected. About half of last year’s 10th graders — the class of 2008 — failed to pass the math section of the WASL. The class of 2008 was supposed to be the first required to pass the WASL in order to graduate.

“I want to let students and parents know that we are listening to their concerns and we believe this plan promotes math skills without penalizing responsible, hardworking students and teachers,” Gregoire said.

She said the state has a comprehensive plan to improve math teaching and learning in its public schools.

“We owe it to these students to prepare them before they graduate high school,” she said.

Of course, no one has seen this “comprehensive plan”, but no one in the Queen Christine fawning media wants to ask her about why.

The only thing she is helping to prepare students to do is fail in life. Because college profs and future employers will always just lower or drop standards if these future college students and employees can’t meet them.

I used to worry about being passed up by the next generation once they entered the job market. Their lifetime growing up with real computers and other technology making their other job skills easier to learn.

Not so much anymore. Unless I need to known how to get past a Level 6 bad guy while pulling off a 720 on my Razr.