Our children deserve better than the
WASL
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On March 14, Bob
Mathieu of
No, Bob, it isn't that simple! The WASL is not just a
standardized test. It is a new form of test, requiring both short and long
answers. It tests children on what they know and also how they think. Research
shows that the WASL is not appropriate to the developmental level of the
children it tests.
The WASL is also a high-stakes test. It measures how
well a school and its students are performing and uses the scores to make
important decisions, such as whether a school receives money or whether a
student is allowed to take elective classes, advance to the next grade level,
graduate or attend college. The children are pressured to "perform"
in order to receive $25,000 (this is what Washington Elementary in Hoquiam and
Stevens Elementary in
The pressure placed on my daughter for both 4th (full
WASL test) and 5th grade (science only WASL) was such that she ended up with
severe migraines and nausea. This happened only with the WASL tests. My child is not alone. Many other children suffer through this test
as well.
The WASL has taken over our schools. Children are not
being taught the 3 R's as you would remember them. All students are being
cheated of a well-rounded education, because teachers are being forced to
"teach to the test" in order to raise test score averages. Programs
for highly capable students have been cut as have vocational programs and the
arts.
I believe that my kids are not getting an education
when the principal and the teachers are more concerned about having the
students learn only material that is on an assessment, in order to ensure that
the students do "well" enough for the school to "earn" (I
call it a bribe) $25,000.
Grants should be based on a school's educational
needs, not on how well a student does on an assessment that does nothing except judge a child's imaginative qualities!
Student time is better spent studying course material
instead of preparing for a rote test. College teachers are, in fact, sending
students back to remedial math in order to re-teach them, because they want the
students to just solve the math problems and not to fill up their papers with
the baloney that was required to pass the WASL.
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Did you know that out of the 25 states that had assessment tests
as a graduation requirement, 17 of them dropped it?
It is time for everyone to become better informed about their children's
education! For information about our children's math education, go to Where's the Math? at http://www.wheresthemath.com. Also,
please go to Washington Mathematics Education Reform Issues (forum) at http://wamath.proboards56.com/.
Finally, for the Real Truth About the WASL, go to
www.MothersAgainstWASL.org.
Our children deserve better than the WASL. They deserve a well-rounded
education that will help them throughout their lifetimes.
Julie Messerer
Hoquiam