The "New" WASL that isn't the WASL

So true to his word, the new Superintendent of Public Instruction, Randy Dorn, has done away with the WASL. There won't be one this year. Or will there?

The tests have a new name, but one of them is unchanged, another is not new so much as an abridged version of the WASL, and really only the high school math tests - not yet available - are supposed to be really different.

How are folks feeling about this? Is Randy Dorn keeping his commitment? Does he clearly intend to keep it but these things take time? Or is this all smoke and mirrors?

For reference, check out this piece by SoulNerd in Publicola, this story in the Times, and this story in Crosscut.

Comments

SP said…
The total # of days on the calendar atleast have changed at the high school level.

Last year there were 8 WASL days, where all of the non-WASL testers were sleeping at home for an extra 2+ hours/day (something that many parents are not aware of).

This year (as just posted on our high school's website calendar) there will be only 5 WASL test days for high schools:
March 16, 17 & 18 for Reading/Writing, and April 13 & 15 for Math/Science.
8/18/09, 9:07 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
At Roosevelt, we had 10th graders taking the WASL (plus any 9th graders who had signed up plus any juniors who didn't pass a section(s). The seniors had to come to school but later to work on their Senior Projects.
8/18/09, 11:49 AM
Melissa Westbrook said…
At Roosevelt, we had 10th graders taking the WASL (plus any 9th graders who had signed up plus any juniors who didn't pass a section(s). The seniors had to come to school but later to work on their Senior Projects.
8/18/09, 11:50 AM
Charlie Mas said…
I thought the 9th graders weren't allowed to take the WASL in 2009.
8/18/09, 12:21 PM
TechyMom said…
So, does this mean no MAP? Or, are they planning to do both? The MAP sounded really promising, both for student placement and assessment, and also for giving us some value-added data to use to compare schools. The WASL, well I don't see much value to it.

As for a graduation test... I still don't understand why we don't make everyone pass the GED. It is already used to award diplomas, and covers what we expect people to learn in HS.
8/18/09, 2:21 PM
Charlie Mas said…
The MAP is a totally separate piece from the state-mandated testing for state Accountability and federal NCLB purposes.
8/18/09, 3:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Who Is A. J. Crabill (and why should you care)?

Why You Should Care Mr. Crabill has found quite the acolyte in Director Chandra Hampson. In the course of discussions over SOFG, she says his name over and over, "A.J .says we...." Now that's not too surprising given the direction the district is heading and that it is Mr. Crabill's work with the Council of Great City Schools is how we got here. But it appears that Mr. Crabill is working very closely with Hampson and we know she wields some amount of power over the majority of the Board. Mr. Crabill is going to continue to work with the Board as SOFG is instituted in SPS. In fact, his role may become more public as it did at one SPS Board meeting in the spring where he was on the phone during the meeting and suggested the Board stop the meeting to "self-reflect." I also noticed that in a district in South Carolina, when things weren't going to plan, he blamed the Board for not following SOFG to the letter. Look for that to happen here if Board members w
Read more

Why the Majority of the Board Needs to be Filled with New Faces

This may only be a partial list of reasons; please, add anything else in the comments. The deadline to file to run for the Board is May 19th. Entire Board Majority NOT vetting the Superintendent in any way, shape or form. Even the Seattle Times thought that was wrong.  It was just absolute hubris and it was wrong. For the second time in just over a year , board members voted to negotiate a superintendent contract during a special meeting with no opportunity for public comment. This time, they showed an even deeper disregard for their responsibilities as public servants: Aborting a national search for a new superintendent and denying Interim Superintendent Brent Jones a chance to show students, parents and taxpayers that, indeed, he is the best person for the job. Government bodies can’t fast-forward through transparent processes just because they think they know the right answer. One other odd thing about the hiring of Brent Jones - most permanent SPS superintendent contracts ar
Read more