Undue state and federal pressure
on districts and schools to improve WASL scores is being transferred to the
students who are the actual participants in WASL testing “where the pencil hits
the paper.” In many instances, this pressure is displayed by schools in
seemingly positive “reward” policies. Extrinsic rewards for WASL participation
and performance have many negative consequences, both for students receiving
them and for students who are left out of the celebrations, awards ceremonies,
and/or listings in district newspapers and school newsletters.
Rewards such as movies and ice
cream parties for WASL participants teach students that learning in itself is
not the reward. Parent Empowerment Network (PEN) encourages parents to utilize
their state-recognized right to opt their children out of WASL. Many schools
have denied these opted out students the “privilege” of partaking in school and
classroom post-WASL activities. This practice punishes the student for the
choice of the parent and must stop.
Schools and districts that publish
the names of students or otherwise publicly recognizing students who meet the
WASL standard expose all students who have not passed the test. PEN, therefore,
asserts that these actions may have serious legal consequences to school
districts. By divulging the names of student who have passed the WASL, the
school is, by default, publicly broadcasting the identity of students who have
failed to meet WASL standard. PEN believes this is a school district
violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which ensures
confidentiality of student records. Additionally, this practice has a
devastating effect on students whose parents have consciously chosen not to
tell their children that they have failed sections of the WASL.
PEN disagrees with the practice of
awarding and/or punishing students based on WASL participation or performance.
In many cases, students have no control over their passage or failure on this
flawed state instrument. Rewarding and punishing students based on a test that
equates to a measure of educational capacity rather than effort simply furthers
the societal stratification that exists outside the schoolhouse door. In our
democratic society, it is the job of our public schools to encourage and
recognize the individual accomplishments of every student, not elevate an elite
few based on an arbitrary state test.
PEN will seek legal opinion
from the State Attorney General on the issue of confidentiality.
Juanita Doyon, Director
Parent Empowerment Network