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

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, gr...
Read more

Education News Roundup

From the ever-amusing Washington Policy Center : Vouchers are Pell Grants for students under 18.  Vouchers are no different than Pell Grants or GI benefits, except the money goes to the families of students younger than age 18.  Except they are. Pell Grants were created to help needy students and that's not really the goal of the voucher program.  The Pell grant website does have a couple of great studies on why low-income students drop out before finishing their higher ed and what makes a difference.
Read more