WASL is not the ‘tool’ to achieve the higher-standards
we have always wanted for our Public Schools.
WASL is an expensive system failure!
NOT ONE STUDENT should be DENIED a diploma!
Legal Action Against High-Stakes Testing in Washington State
Over the past several months, PEN has worked hard to gather together the legal team needed to file legal action on behalf of the students in the class of 2008 who are threatened with denied diplomas because of Washington’s exit exam, Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). We have made great progress and have retained the services of Darrell Cochran of Gordon, Thomas and Honeywell and the services of Disabilities Rights Advocates in California to develop a winning case. In addition, our PEN attorney, Jeffry Finer of Spokane will continue to work on the case as part of the team. Our first goal is as it always has been that NOT ONE STUDENT be denied a diploma because of WASL failure.
Right now, PEN needs your help with legal funding-- now is the time! If you are a friend, parent, grandparent, teacher, aunt, uncle, sister, or brother of a student in the class of 2008 or beyond --or just a concerned citizen-- please sponsor one or more seniors @ $20 each. Sponsorships for 12,014 seniors scheduled to be denied diplomas will generate the needed funds for the first phase of PEN’s legal action to stop the WASL madness in our public schools.
PEN’s first goal is to stop the denial of diplomas to students in the Class of 2008. PEN’s second goal is to stop the WASL itself and prevent it from destroying the education of hundreds of thousands of younger students. Our legal action is aimed to do both.
WASL reading and/or writing have failed:
12,014/73,075 Seniors (16.4%)
789/5,966 Asian American Seniors (13.2%)
7,399/54,182 Caucasian/White Seniors (13.7%)
937/3,279 African American Seniors (29%)
522/1,771 Native American Seniors (29.5%)
2,179/7,110 Hispanic Seniors (30.6%)
5,207/18,433 Seniors from Low Income Families (28.3%)
3,019/6,095 Seniors in Special Education (49.6%)
1,371/2,077 Seniors in Bilingual/English Second Language (66%)
The Class of 2008 needs you today!
Send $20 per Sponsored Senior by check to:
Parent Empowerment Network
PO Box 494
Spanaway, WA 98387
or sponsor through PayPal at: http://www.mothersagainstwasl.org/member.html
All contributions are tax deductible. Questions? Email Jedoyon@aol.com
"PEN needs our help. Will you sponsor a WA state 2008 senior for $20 to ensure that PEN's WASL lawsuit is successful? A victory in Washington State for PEN would send chills up the spines of the testocrats who are trying to push these exit exams down the throats of parents in all 50 states."
Sue Allison
Marylanders Against High Stakes Testing
______________________________
Class of 2008-- the REAL RATES
OSPI continues to claim an 87% pass rate for WASL reading and 86% pass rate for WASL writing. These percentages are disputed by Washington Education Association, ACLU, Equitable Opportunity Caucus, Parent Empowerment Network, and others.
Click here for the real story on diploma denial for the class of 2008.
______________________________
PARENT EMPOWERMENT NETWORK CALLS ON GOVERNOR TO REMOVE 10TH GRADE WASL READING ITEM CONTAINING HISPANIC STEREOTYPES
click here to read complete press release, student email, and letter to Governor Gregoire
PEN calls on Governor to take action! Click here to read the April 6, 2007 letter.
WASL WALK and a Letter to the State Superintendent
Mothers and others walked against WASL on March 13th. The walk began on the Capitol steps in Olympia and ended at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, where the following letter was delivered to Dr. Teresa Bergeson.
March 13, 2007
Dear Dr. Bergeson;
As of today, 51,929 members of the class of 2008 who have not passed the WASL are scheduled to be denied diplomas. Based on their 7th grade WASL performance, we can estimate that at least 35,000 members of the class of 2009 and 30,000 members of the class of 2010 will be added to the WASL casualty list. click here to read the entire letter
If you are a parent of a high school student with an IEP or 504 Plan, and are concerned about the WASL�s impact on your special education student, please complete a Parent Survey to assist DRA with its current investigation.
______________________________
For More Information Please Click On The Links Below
WASL Reasoning
As a leader in the growing revolt against the Washington
Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), I have counseled parents and students,
throughout the state, concerning their right to opt out of the test. Many schools are very reasonable and simply
accept a parent-signed note and provide alternative activities during testing
times.Unfortunately, a few districts
have found it appropriate to use coercion, scare-tactics and outright lies to
get students to take the test and parents to change their minds about opting
them out.
At the request of frustrated parents, I have developed a
short position statement.Supporting
evidence can be found in books and articles on testing, and in the public
records concerning WASL itself. However, the following should suffice to quiet even the most obstinate
school official
The WASL is a wasteful, invalid, unproven, abusive experiment. My child is not your data or the state's guinea pig. There is no law stating that s/he must take the test. There is no program that recognizes WASL scores for admittance or placement, and if this school is utilizing them in this manner, perhaps a lawsuit will take care of that. The legislature has not certified that the WASL is appropriate for any use other than the development of an accountability system for schools. I do not trust the questions; I do not trust the scoring; and until the state decides that it is my right to view my child's scored test and all scoring guides, with an advocate present, I will not allow my child to take part in this secret assessment.
Juanita Doyon, Director Parent Empowerment Network
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of education issues vital to a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more informationclick here.If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
width="100" height="150">
