And the Washington Assesment of Student Learning (WASL) test is going to have to go.
After three rounds of testing, about 87 percent of students in the class of 2008 who are on track to graduate next June have passed the reading section of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reported Friday. About the same number passed writing.
(….)
The preliminary results also included scores for the class of 2009 in its first attempt on the 10th-grade test. That class scored better in writing than last year’s 10th-graders, with a preliminary passing rate of 88.4 percent, compared with 83.5 percent last year. The results in reading and math were a little lower than last year, with 85.1 percent passing reading, and 53.3 percent passing math.
In Washington State, only 88% of Sophomores can write at their class level, only 85% can READ at their class level, and only 53% can pass a mathematics examination at the 10th grade level.
Truly sad.
The teacher’s representation organization, the Washington Education Association (WEA), says that this test is bad because students in this state do well on tests such as the SAT and the NAEP. They will never blame their senority structure system that helps bad teachers stay employeed.
Even parents are crying foul of the WASL, though mostly it seems to be that their kids aren’t passing the test and they don’t want little Johnny and Suzy to miss graduating with their friends.
Juanita Doyon, of the anti-WASL Parent Empowerment Network, said her group is working with parents who plan to file a class-action suit over the WASL graduation requirement by the end of the summer.
(Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry) Bergeson, however, said she’d rather see that energy go into helping more students succeed, rather than toward fighting “standards that will help our kids be competitive in a world that’s going to demand it.”
I keep hearing a whole lot of whining about “teaching to the test” and about how some classes have become “WASL preparation classes”.
Tough titties. These people apparently do not think that the students who do well on the SAT and NAEP test study to do well on them. What is so wrong with setting a minimum standard and teaching to it?
These tests have minimum requirements. The students get at least six chances to pass them before graduation. What exactly is the problem here. If you cannot read, write and calculate at a 10th grade level, you are not going to be able to function at a college level, which is where the leftists who vigorously support the public school system and oppose standardized testing say that “every child” deserves a chance to go.
They would require my tax dollars to pay for “every child” to go to college and then demand that my other tax dollars not pay for an education that readies them for college. How can they be so short-sighted?
Oh yeah, they’re “the ones who care so very much about the children”, so they can forget important steps such as that.
I liken the parents who are suing to get the WASL requirement taken away to those who get angry at the school instead of the child when their precious little darling can’t keep up the GPA to stay on the school sports teams. They’re basically saying that as long as Johnny and Suzy show up regularly, they deserve the diploma.
Sorry jacko, if you want schools to be mandatory, you have to set standards for graduation. Otherwise, you might as well just keep them in daycare.
There was a very interesting piece in the WSJ a few months ago, pointing out the blindingly obvious fact that half of all students are below average.
So I’d say the fact that 88% of students are passing the reading/writing section, at 10th grade level, (am I totally out of line in thinking that HS grads should be able to do the 3 Rs at a 12th grade level?)says to me that the thing is pretty watered down.
Either the math section isn’t as watered down, which IMO is good, or the ‘new math’ (or are we on ‘new new math’ or what now?) doesn’t work very well.
And I’m willing to be the scores look better on the SAT/ACT because, duh, the kids who are failing the WASL math aren’t taking college entrance exams, because they’re not going to college and they know it.
So much could be said about how crappy our current school system is that Phil could write about it every day for a solid month. It’s a total joke from what it used to be. “New Math” which is basically “I don’t give a fuck if you got the right answer. Just tell me how you felt about getting the answer that you did.”
“No child left behind” which means more responsibility is put on the teacher to pass a student and less on the parent(s) or actual child attending class.
Public Schools rallying against Charter Schools. I’m guessing it’s because Charter Schools have shown to do a better job at teaching because they are ran like businesses.
“Standardized” tests that are either watered down or contain questions that are so idiotic it makes you question if inmates at Western State Mental Hospital are writing them. Remember the question a few years ago on the WASL whose answer was Mary-Kae-Later-No? Or what about brilliant ones such as “Sun is to Shoe as Book is to…”
Public school teachers complaining about their pay and benefits. Last time I checked A) they made on average a salary near or at the state average B) they have great benefits, better than some private companies I know C) it’s the best paid part time job out there (remember, they get summers off) and D) if teachers don’t like it, get another job doing something else!
And HL, you’re right. By definition, half of all students are below average. Otherwise, it’s not an average but a mode or median measurement!