On March 8th 2005 Mr. David Van Cleave had printed in the Spokesman Review a letter to the editor saying the stress created for our children by the WASL compares to buying a home or getting married. Those who can not handle the stress should prepare to live at home with mom and dad for a very long time. This letter is Mothers Against WASL's response to Mr Van Cleave printed on Saturday March 12th.

Get Educated About WASL

In reference to Mr. Van Cleave's letter of March 8th. I would like to remind him that life is not a pen and paper test.

Those of us protesting the WASL are not protesting high standards. We are protesting a test that is developmentally inappropriate at most grade levels and excessively expensive that only serves the needs of the minority not the majority.

We are protesting a particular test that costs $72 per student to administer vs the Iowa Test of Basic Skills which costs only $2.99 per student to administer.

We are protesting a test and the curriculum that surrounds(EALR's) it that has received failing scores from national organizations.

We are protesting a test that leaves the Majority of our youth labeled failures based on WASL pass rates are much lower for low income, minority and special needs students.  This alone poses a great risk for these students, as WASL becomes a graduation requirement.

We strongly urge Mr. Van Cleave to educate himself as to the specifics of our battle.

Shelley Anderson

Mothers Against WASL

Executive Board Member, Spokane