Posted by gee3 at 3/27/08 6:23 a.m.

When it comes to math, I have found that our children's difficulties mirror the lack of understanding of that subject by their own parents.
The pretests that are given in schools to determine what needs to be emphasized in instruction to prepare the students for the test already are the best predictors of how well a student segment will do on the test itself.
A redundancy, don't you think?
My own view is every student should come to class with two goals.
First, pass the class, the grade is unimportant.(see second)
Second, be able to apply what you have just learned to real world endeavors.
We all have to understand that Tests such as WASL and FCAT, Florida's assessment test, are political responses to educational shortfalls.
For any of this to be effective it must be an assessment test based on a NATIONAL curriculum which is non existent today.
In my own school district we have just over 11,000 HS seniors this year.
Only 60% of them have successfully passed one year of algebra and 68% geometry.
A mere 7% of them are taking calculus.
WHY so few?
Imagine a square with a circle inscribed within it that touches all four interior surfaces.
A diagonal drawn from the top right corner to the bottom left corner of the square measures 1.414 inches.
What is the circumference of the circle?
In my own discussions with parents less than 5% can solve the problem, yet this is what we expect from our children completing their sophomore year in high school.
We need to help our children become more intelligent so they will be able to help their children with their homework.
The answer to the square/circle problem should be as easy as PIe.

Posted by skeptical at 3/27/08 8:19 a.m.

The WASL and the other tests just show that the public school system is failing. The reason the the tests were introduced is because business told the pols that a high school graduate who could not make change was not much use.

The colleges and universities were putting a large portion of students in bone-head math and english.

The WASL may not be the best way, but it is still showing that the school system is failing.

Of course the NEA and WEA want to get rid of anything that shows how badly they are doing.

Posted by Master Educator at 3/27/08 8:33 a.m.

I find it sadly ironic, and not believable at all, to have read above "Strangely, most who wrote in to support the WASL did not make factual arguments..."

The facts do not support scrapping the WASL, as many would like to do (and is being done). Recent reports by independent groups hired by the State to evaluate the WASL versus end-of-course exams conclude that either could effectively do the job.

The fact is, bad math teaching is the culprit, coupled with a buy-in by educators of the mindset that one either "can" or "cannot" do math, thus excusing both themseleves and their students from learning the subject as required.

"Skeptical" is correct. The problem existed before the WASL. The WASL showed the problem in math, so the system has now, essentially, "shot the messenger"...and will "shhot" anyone else who argues the problem from the perspective of the factual events.

Posted by NorthEndDad at 3/27/08 6:50 p.m.

My daughter was an exceptional math and science student in K-12, and now attends one of the best engineering schools in the USA.

Her reports of "teaching to the WASL's" were disturbing, to say the least. According to her, the science WASL uses terminology that is not used anywhere else in the scientific community. This means that teachers, with gritted teeth, have to teach a complex terminology that they KNoW would be utterly useless to their students later in life. Standardized testing CAN be a great tool, and the concept of it is fine with me, but please, make it a good test.

Unfortunately, that excludes the WASL.

Posted by MLaurel at 3/28/08 8:14 a.m.

Mr. Horsey does a good job of summarizing the anti-WASL arguments. Readers may want to consider the responses to those points, as well as the benefits of the WASL when making their evaluations.

Any test will take time and cost money. There is a tradeoff between the value of the data you can collect and the intrusion on the school system. The Legislature has scaled back the WASL investment, and it's worth looking at the time and money spent on state testing.

Yes, WASL is not designed to be a classroom assessment. There are many other tools for that purpose. Ideally, the statewide measurement system should tie in with classroom assessments that are of immediate use. This is an argument for developing better classroom tools.

Yes, the WASL's emphasis on reading, writing, math, and science gives them higher value than other subjects. But, this is a position most people may agree with. It is more important to master those basic skills.

There is a difference between teaching to the test, versus teaching to the learning paradigm the test measures. As a WASL tutor, I've found it best to teach the following approach to WASL questions to students: Look at the question, what is important? What decision would you make, and why? How would you explain your answer? This is simply critical thinking in action. It's a far cry from: If you don't know, guess 'C' or the answer with the most words.

The WASL is designed to test basic competency in core subjects. Like everything else, it can be improved.

What is the evidence that WASL skills are in opposition to higher level education skills?

Many people claim there are better tests, where is their proof? I'd prefer to evaluate the tests rather than take someone's word for it.

Are there benefits to the WASL? It is the best available measure for the learning components Washington state has chosen. A standardized, statewide test does provide data on our schools' performance. Without that information, how can we tell if any change we make in our education system is making things better or worse?

Posted by unregistered user at 3/28/08 9:15 a.m.

Master Educator wrote: "Recent reports by independent groups hired by the State to evaluate the WASL versus end-of-course exams conclude that either could effectively do the job."

Please include a link to those studies.

MLaurel wrote: "Many people claim there are better tests, where is their proof? I'd prefer to evaluate the tests rather than take someone's word for it."

Measurement of Academic Progress http://www.nwea.org/assessments/map.asp

Posted by unregistered user at 3/28/08 2:10 p.m.

The problem is with both the WASL (invalid, unreliable, expensive, and extremely flawed -- please see http://www.curewashington.org/WASLinfofinal.pdf) and with the curriculum. The curriculum is based on the Essential Academic Learning Requirements(EALRs)which are neither essential nor academic. These are the state standards developed by the Commission on Student Learning (CSL), a now defunct body run by (guess who?) ... Terry Bergeson, prior to her becoming SPI. She is responsible for both the EALRs and the WASL, which was developed under her watch at OSPI. Do you think she is invested in them? Oh, yeah! I read somewhere recently that we have dumped over a billion $ on the WASL. We are throwing money down a rat hole. The children are the losers here. -- Marda

Posted by kathumi_fails at 3/28/08 3:41 p.m.

And don't forget that she is also involved with the CBAs. People really should throughly examine them.
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/CBAOverview.aspx

Posted by kathumi_fails at 3/28/08 3:42 p.m.

dang - typo. "thoroughly"

Posted by unregistered user at 3/29/08 1:58 p.m.

I have known SPI Bergeson since 1975 when I became General Counsel of the WEA and she served on its Board of Directors. We worked together when she served as WEA President. As a fan of David Horsey, I was dismayed at his recent editorial cartoon lampooning Bergeson as an air-headed fairy living a life of make-believe. This is not the Terry Bergeson I know. The real one is practical, down to earth and passionate about student learning. The cartoon blythely assumes that all teachers hate the WASL - they don't. It implies that WASL is the creation of SPI Bergeson. It isn't. It was recommended by a gubenatorial-appointed citizens committee and passed into law by the Washington State Legislature. As a Constitutional Offcer, the SPI is obligated to enforce such law, whether she agrees with it or not.

Perhaps the WASL is not a perfect test, yet there must be some vehicle to measure student learning, some mechanism to ensure accountability. For years, New York State has required its students to pass a standardized test in order to graduate high school, and has had good experiences with it. Rather than shoot the messenger, I suggest that we get behind Bergeson's efforts to improve the process and our schools.

Posted by kathumi_fails at 3/29/08 7:57 p.m.

Was the WASL recommended by a "gubenatorial-appointed citizens committee", or is it that the committee recommended "clear, challenging academic standards;
standards-based assessment and other ways of measuring student achievement; and an accountability system to hold schools and school districts accountable for results"? It seems to me it was the later. The committee then charges the Commission on Student Learning with the task of meeting those recommendations. The Director of the Commission on Student Learning who oversaw the developement of that assessment system (aka WASL) was none other than Terry Bergeson. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the WASL is very much Terry's baby.

Posted by kathumi_fails at 3/29/08 8:45 p.m.

Oh, and for those who are unfamiliar with the timeline, the Commission on Student Learning was created in 1992. In 1993 the Commission was charged with the task of developing academic standards, an assessment system and accountability recommendations. From 1993 to 1996 Bergeson served as the executive director of the Washington State Commission on Student Learning. The WASL was completed by 1995 and began being administered in 1996 and 1997. In 1996 Terry Bergeson was elected Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Posted by DYSLEXIA Mom at 3/30/08 5:47 p.m.

MLaurel asked: What is the evidence that WASL skills are in opposition to higher level education skills?

-College professors TELL the kids to quit using WASL skills. They are not appropriate or wanted in their classes. This has been in English classes, Writing classes, and Math classes. If the colleges don't want WASLized kids, then who does?

-Two years ago there were 40 Math courses offered at Edmonds Community College. 25 of them were for REMEDIATED Math. Obviously kids aren't getting the RIGHT kind of Math in high school to take on higher level learning.
Kids made change at the local burger joints with better skills than before WASL came along! We've had WASLized kids in those jobs for the past 10 years or more.

-More evidence is having Science teachers testify to our State Education Committee's (House and Senate) that they are NOT teaching SCIENCE anymore. WASL 'Science' is not Science. Doesn't that make you wonder what has changed? Does ME!

Shouldn't someone with appropriate credentials LOOK at the 'test' to SEE if it is valid? Someone who wasn't involved with constructing the 'test' to begin with? I'd like to know FOR SURE the 'test' is quality before sinking MORE tax dollars into it.

We've already been told the Math is garbage. What about the other sections? Are we going to WAIT and find out later THEY are 'garbage' too? Seems logical that the same thing could happen (IS happening) and they will find out they made a huge, expensive MISTAKE.

Money lost in investing in a flawed test is bad enough. Failing to give our students quality education instead of WASLization is morally unforgivable.
Shouldn't we WANT to be SURE the WASL is quality?
NOTHING proves it is as of now.

I WANT TO KNOW! I want PROOF! I want an independent study performed on the WASL before we deny diploma's!!!

Posted by DYSLEXIA Mom at 3/30/08 5:51 p.m.

gee3,

A mere 7% of them are taking calculus.
WHY so few?

Answer: Because if a child fails the Math section of the WASL, then even though they may qualify to advance to calculus by their class grade and achievments, they are not allowed entry into that class due to failing what we NOW KNOW is a garbage Math WASL! The WASL prevents them from moving forward. HOW frustrating is THAT for teachers and students???
WASL can and DOES hold our children BACK! Ask a Math teacher! They WILL tell you. Oh, and this happens to the AP gifted kids too.... not just kids who struggle.

Posted by DYSLEXIA Mom at 3/30/08 6:05 p.m.

Master Educator:

BAD Math teaching is the culprit? WOW. (You are sucking right into what OSPI WANTS you to think!)

The Math teachers I know sure don't see it that way. Of course, they don't teach in the public school system anymore, thanks to the WASL. They left to teach in private schools.... where REAL education is still taught and appreciated.

They certainly aren't guilty of flawed teaching methods, but they ARE probably guilty of jumping off a sinking ship. The USS WASL Math was doomed from the start... and now it's going down in our state history as a failed attempt to bring high standards to our schools.

NOW we're paying for the revisions and investigation as to what went wrong. The kids who suffered through the flawed Math will suffer forever in life by our goof.
Teachers 'fault?' Hardly!

Does this mean that ALL of the Math teachers in our state are substandard? The test scores show the Math WASL failed everywhere. If that's true, then shouldn't we be blaming the college profs who taught our Math teachers? Oh, AND the college profs who gave them their Master's Degree's in Math also?

Nawwwwwwwwww... it CAN'T be the almighty TEST!!! Why, we've paid over a BILLION dollars for the test! It MUST be good, valid, appropriate and quality, RIGHT???

Damn, it MUST be those crappy Math teachers!!!

NOT! Guess again... it just might BE the TEST!!!
But we'll probably never know since nobody will LOOK!

Posted by unregistered user at 4/1/08 10:27 p.m.

I have been reading the more detailed threads under the reader comments and have noticed that even the most well-informed of those posting are making a very basic error. The WASL is NOT (repeat - NOT) a standardized test. (Calling it standardized does not make it so, no matter how often it is said or written.) There is nothing standard about the WASL. The amount of time allowed to administer it varies from school to school, year to year, etc. The questions change from year to year. What constitutes a passing grade is decided by a committee, after they have reviewed a sampling of responses. There are hundreds (maybe thousands?) of different scorers, each with his own biases, and who each have good and bad days. Standard scoring is impossible with essay questions, which constitute roughly half of the WASL. It also is not normed against anything or anyone. The WASL is a criterion-referenced assessment (not really a test). A test measures acquisition of knowledge. An assessment is a determination of value. The WASL is a highly subjective, easily manipulable assessment. It is being used to determine the value of the student as a human resource for society. -- Marda

Posted by unregistered user at 4/2/08 2:29 a.m.

As a former award-winning, very experienced public high school teacher who had the distasteful responsibility of administering the WASL since its inception to scores of equally unhappy sophomore victims, I can testify to the destructive effect of this test on Washington education. In fact, I exemplify one of the damaging effects caused by WASL mania since I am one of a large number of experienced, dedicated teachers who have departed from public education primarily because of the WASL to teach in the relative sanity of the private sector where actual teaching is still possible. I haven't seen any compiled statistics summarizing the number of committed teachers leaving public education primarily because of the WASL constraints on teaching, but I know of many fine teachers who left because, like me, they simply could not tolerate the frustration of teaching to that highly flawed and invalid test.

In the pre-WASL era, a teacher could organize lesson plans on the basis of truly essential learning skills, teaching critical thinking and research skills which will be so important for citizens in a democratic society. With the advent of the WASL, the time available for thematic teaching related to long term research projects involving critical and creative thinking was reduced to the point at which meaningful integration of skills has become impossible. For example, before I was required to teach to the WASL test, I guided my honors English students through a lengthy thematic environmental unit in which students were able to integrate interdisciplinary skills used in science, math, social studies, and English. In addition to reading literature about environmental themes, students worked in pairs to research environmental topics such as global warming, acid rain, desertification, alternative energy sources, and many more. After gathering and organizing information, each pair of students would prepare and present a Lincoln-Douglas style debate on their individual topic in addition to writing a paper. I initiated this environmental unit long before such topics as global warming had become a fashionable area of concern because I recognized the importance of this type of learning to the survival of our American society and ultimately to the survival of our planet.

With the advent of the WASL, I found myself being required to present numerous packets of WASL worksheets to students in preparation for the test. The time required to complete these worthless exercises abrogated the possibility of doing such long term, critical thinking projects as the environmental unit. Students submitted to the boredom of these endless worksheets with amazing good will and effort when I explained to them that, like it or not, we were being required to do this and that it was in their best interest to prepare as well as possible for the WASL in order to graduate from high school. However, the attitude of one very bright honors English student was quite typical. She told me after the test that she was grateful for the test preparation that we had done because she felt it did help her to score very well on the test. But she went on to say that she questioned the value of some material on the test and would rather have been assigned "to pick up garbage in the school yard" than to plow through those odious WASL worksheets. It seemed that she, like many of the brighter students, had difficulty in seeing the value or worth of much of the knowledge "tested" by the WASL.

Unfortunately, much of that knowledge tested by the WASL rests on lower level thinking skills and does not test realistic skills that will be necessary for college and in the workplace. In terms of Blooms Taxonomy, a classification of thinking skills and knowledge, effective thinking begins on the lower levels of knowledge and comprehension but should progress to higher levels of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Unfortunately, the WASL operates mainly on the two lower levels of knowledge and comprehension with little emphasis on higher level thinking skills. And when I say lower levels, I mean really lower levels. In the writing and reading areas, much of the test material is formulated on the extremely informal or even colloquial (slang) level of language. The formal level of language use required for college and in the workplace is not tested. Because many teachers do not teach students the difference between standard (formal) and nonstandard (informal, colloquial) English, students are often confused and upset by the level of language used in the test. About six years ago, I wrote to Terry Bergeson in protest about a particularly inappropriate piece included in the reading section of the test, but my complaint received no response. In proctoring that test, I had numerous students raise their hands to ask me if that kind of language should be in a test. Many were shocked. Subsequently, many students went on to college to find that the language usage tested by the WASL was not acceptable in college essays and classes. I had taught my students to discern the difference between formal and informal English, but they found that many students, products of Washington WASL education, were having difficulty with writing college papers.

I could go on and on about the problems with the WASL, and perhaps I will write further when I have more time. My observations here represent just a superficial view of a small portion of what is basically wrong with that test. I could write a book, in fact! I have escaped the clutches of the WASL, but because I care deeply about students and education, I am still very concerned about the victimization of students by means of that travesty called the WASL.

Posted by West Seattle Dan at 4/2/08 2:42 a.m.

Hey Mr Horsey,

I still remember your great WASL cartoon with the kids with their three tubed (Reading Writing and Math) WASL hats on and the blinders. The kid at the window hoping to be the child left behind with the Arts and PE etc.

Well now there is a whole new line of disaster approaching. The proposal that is almost finalized to require an Algebra II credit to graduate from high school.

Just when you think there is time for a sanity break, Some Edu-Crats hurry to make the next big colossal mistake. How is a math activist ever going to get any rest around here?

You can get the full Overview of the nonsense at this location.

It is nice to know that the Seattle Public Schools do not have a monopoly on educational stupidity. Unlike Gasoline it is cheap and in seemingly endless supply in the Puget Sound region.

Posted by West Seattle Dan at 4/2/08 3:19 a.m.

Hold on there with all this talk about poor math teachers. Look at the Most Aligned textbooks with the WASL as determined by OSPI there is not a reasonable textbook in the top rated ones at any grade level.

Consider Core-Plus the book that prepares absolutely no one to pursue a mathematically intensive career. Crap-Plus just barely edges out IMP for worse high school math text ever written based on the number of students who thought they were going into engineering until the math placement test. Welcome to Art History cause that is all the math you know. Surprise Surprise those Core-Plus and IMP A grades will not get you into Calculus much less through it.

All these Pseudo Math books came out of $100 million in NSF HED funds to develop them. Not a single one has been shown to be effective. Your tax dollars at work -- keeping book publishers in business writing supplementary texts to help the struggling student and providing expensive professional development for the struggling teacher.

In schools since the abandonment of Core Knowledge because Bergeson's law is that process trumps content and philosophical alignment is far more important than results. Custodians have seen enormous increases in the amount of paper cut and pasted in 8th grade social studies classes. The outcome is that students enter high school with so little knowledge they have nothing to process.

Am I the only one that finds the following peculiar? Teachers are encouraged to carefully monitor their students through observation, tests, quizzes and other assessment to improve practice by making adjustments.
The state spent $850 million on the WASL gave it for years and then suddenly noticed in August of 2006 that we had a statewide math meltdown. I give up who was carefully watching and adjusting to improve practice?

Do you suppose that those most aligned textbooks might have something to do with the problem? What a great idea force all the teachers to follow the pacing plan using only the defective materials and then blame the teachers for their lack of skill.

Pardon me but the teachers are using the materials supposedly most aligned to the state test and those materials are pathetic. I am still waiting for Dr Bergeson's press release on that.

Posted by West Seattle Dan at 4/2/08 4:00 a.m.

It was said:
... I have known SPI Bergeson since 1975 when I became General Counsel of the WEA and she served on its Board of Directors.

Wow are you out there in the land of non-reality. Comparing the New York state regents exams to the WASL.
I believe you still graduate in NY without passing the regents exam but you are not going to be admitted to college. Perhaps a real New Yorker could clarify this.
The regents exam tests content knowledge and the WASL well we are still trying to figure out what it tests. The regents is a standardized test and the WASL well it is really something else. It is mostly a test of the publics tolerance of lunacy.

Get a clue on your friend. We are stuck with this sorry expensive mess because of her. The MAP test was piloted as a WASL replacement. The Feds wrote Dr Bergeson that she would need to request that the Feds do a peer review so that the MAP could replace the WASL for the NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress. She did not submit that request to the Feds.

It was said:
...The real one is practical, down to earth and passionate about student learning.

No the real one is a politician that uses the WASL as an expensive public relations tool. During the Six years when both the Iowa tests and the WASL were given. Iowa test scores were essentially flat and WASL scores rose rapidly. So which do you think measures reading more accurately the WASL or the IOWA tests? Me I am thinking unless I-pod's and hours of shoot 'em up video games increase reading scores enormously at grade 7. I am going with the really inexpensive IOWA tests. Well it looks like Dr Bergeson got what she paid for with the expensive WASL better reading scores.

Now please explain how the $770,000 for the Dana Center bid got accepted over the low bids of $130,000 and $255,000 for the Math Standards revision. You know the Dec 4 draft that did not follow either the law HB 1906 or the SBE recommendations that were to be followed. This job was so screwed up the legislature refused to accept the product.

Go to the OSPI page and see the great spin job Dr Bergeson put on these failures.

Dr Bergeson is really going to have a tough time painting her political opponents as more likely to screw up the education mess in this state than she has.
I do not think a first term SPI has enough power to do that. An SPI needs to be in for at least 2 or three terms to do that.

Dr Bergeson is a living example of a perfect argument for term limits.

Posted by kathumi_fails at 4/2/08 7:45 a.m.

Marda wrote: "It [the WASL] is being used to determine the value of the student as a human resource for society."

This is exactly its intended purpose as shown by comments made by Shirley McCune. She has repeatedly refered to children as "human capital" Regarding her (and Bergeson's) view of education, she has states, "The school is moving out of the business of 'schooling' into the business of human resource development." (www.newhorizons.org)

Posted by West Seattle Dan at 4/3/08 2:22 a.m.

Hey kathumi_fails,

If only George Orwell could be following this action
I can see it now.

the sequel:
"24 Years after 1984" Starring Shirley McCune and Terry Bergeson

Posted by kathumi_fails at 4/3/08 8:52 a.m.

funny!!!

...and yet, so sad.

Posted by Cat in the Hat at 4/4/08 12:59 p.m.

Be expecting a 'guest column' in either the Seattle Times or PI by either Catherine Taylor or Virginia Warfield. Usually after WASL criticism in the media these two come out with an article in support of WASL.

They are usually only identified as Professors at the University of Washington or testing experts.

Their opinions are hardly unbiased as they are on Terry Bergeson's payroll and had a hand in WASL development. Taylor had an office inside OSPI (and may still have one).

I'm surprised we haven't heard from these two yet in the media.

Posted by kathumi_fails at 4/4/08 4:56 p.m.

yep - Catherine Taylor is still gainfully employed by OSPI. She is in the dept of Assessment and Student Information. Her OSPI email is Catherine.Taylor@k12.wa.us, and her phone number at OSPI is (360) 725-6061.

Posted by Cat in the Hat at 4/4/08 9:23 p.m.

Mater Educator @112002 wrote:

"Recent reports by independent groups hired by the State to evaluate the WASL versus end-of-course exams conclude that either could effectively do the job."

What 'independent groups'?

I am not an expert on this, but from what I have read it seams the opposite is true.

A bill was passed to pilot the MAP test and send the reults to the feds to have it approved for No Child Left Behind. . The test was used with positive feedback, but Terry Bergeson never sent the results to the feds.

It is Terry Bergeson that is blocking the evaluations of other tests to replace WASL!

Other tests have been around for years with little or no controversy (ITBS, MAP . etc). I assume that is because they have a good reputation and have met some type of expert evaluation.

As far as I know, the WASL has not.

Posted by kathumi_fails at 4/5/08 2:21 p.m.

Don't you think it just a little odd that when Master Educator was requested to provide a link to those reports by so-called "independent groups" he/she completely stopped posting to this board? Could it be that the so-called "independent groups" was really just a group made up of OSPI's Catherine Taylor and other OSPI employees or contractors? Hmmm. not very "independent", is it????

Posted by Cat in the Hat at 4/5/08 4:20 p.m.

Sorry for my grammatical errors above(post # 114825) . I did not proof read.

seams=seems and reults=results

Posted by unregistered user at 4/6/08 2:23 a.m.

GRAMMAR!
In the brave new world of "no child left behind" grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have become inconsequential since language usage is tested on the highly colloquial level by the WASL. Orwell's new world of "newspeak" is at hand. a little late for 1984! The "new WASL world" attitude toward what we formerly called language mechanics is perfectly delineated by the new terminology: CONVENTIONS! Grammar and other language mechanics have been relegated to the realm of convention or traditional choice rather than requirement with a consequent decline in expectations for good mechanics. As the WASL generation grows to maturity, one will no longer need to worry about such trivial pursuits as spelling a word correctly because the term "convention" conveys the idea of choice, that one can choose whether or not to use correct grammar. The implication of the term "conventions" is that the choice of whether to spell, punctuate, and capitalize correctly is similar to choosing to wear cut-offs or a formal to the prom or to eat one's peas with a fork or a knife. The connotative meaning of the term "conventions" carries with it this element of choice whereas in pre-WASL days, the term "mechanics" meant an essential aspect of good writing which was commonly considered fifty percent of the grade on a paper, with the other fifty percent being ideas or content.

On the WASL essays, students do receive a grade on conventions/mechanics, but the grading range is narrowed to "0," "1," or "2," with a grade of "0" meaning failure or in WASL language, really bad; with a grade of "1" meaning average or acceptable; and a grade of "2" meaning above average. This might sound reasonable in terms of superficial theory, but in actuality the WASL grades reflect extremely low expectations in the area of mechanics/conventions. Conventions are just obviously not very important to WASL perpetrators. I have seen some scored WASL tests with high scores in conventions when I would have given very low scores to those same essays which were filled with misspelling along with incorrect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The expectations are low in the language mechanics area, and many students meet those low expectations.

The reasons for the low and inaccurate mechanics scores relate to these low expectations but also to the content of WASL preparation and to the scoring process itself. In the packets of WASL worksheets which teachers are forced to use in class, practice exercises or even basic standards for language mechanics/convention instruction are conspicuously absent. Also, because teachers are forced to eliminate other valuable aspects of the curriculum in order to trudge through those WASL worksheets with classes, there is very little time left to teach language mechanics/conventions since this material is not included in the WASL packets. Many teachers choose to emphasize creative thinking, organization, and other content related writing topics in the small amounts of class time remaining after WASL worksheet completion. If high school students have not previously had a good grounding in language mechanics, they typically flounder in this area as they pass through high school without the necessary study of mechanics that was possible in pre-WASL days.

The final reason for inaccurate or low mechanics scores relates to the scoring process for the WASL. It's my understanding that the WASL tests are graded by entrepreneurs hired on the basis of whether they have a college degree in any field. In some states, each test is scored by at least two graders, but because this is more expensive, Washington State tests are graded by only one grader whose individual, subjective opinion and knowledge level are the basis for scoring. Because the grader's college degree may be in an area only tenuously connected to language expertise or English skills, the individual grader may simply lack the knowledge to recognize misspelled words or incorrect grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. More accurate scoring would be possible with two graders if they were required to reach "adjacent agreement," terminology which is educationalese for giving grades that are adjacent or consecutive to each other. For example, if one grader gave a score of "0," and the other grader gave a score of "2," the adjacent agreement requirement would not be met. "1" and "2" would be adjacent.

However, knowledge of language mechanics can be quite successfully tested by computerized tests, as such testing was done by the old MAT test (Metropolitan Achievement Test) which was given in the days before the WASL destroyed education as we knew it. A newer version of that type of test is available today, and this would be a better alternative than the WASL because of greater fairness and consistency of standards in grading when compared to the extreme subjectivity of WASL scoring.

The situation I have described here existed two years ago before I took flight from the WASL and left public school teaching. Because changes could have occurred, parents and students who are concerned about this issue of declining language usage skills should not be secretive about their concern. They should ask to see scored tests and to be given reasons for the scoring. Questioning the status quo is the only way to promote change.

from Unregistered User -- Author of 113905 --
I'll call myself "Teacher B" in future posts.

Posted by unregistered user at 4/6/08 3:23 a.m.

Kathumi wrote:
"Don't you think it just a little odd that when Master Educator was requested to provide a link to those reports by so-called "independent groups" he/she completely stopped posting to this board? Could it be that the so-called "independent groups" was really just a group made up of OSPI's Catherine Taylor and other OSPI employees or contractors? Hmmm. not very "independent", is it????"

It's possible that the "independent groups" were groups of self-appointed, so-called "consultants," which sprang prolifically from fertile WASL soil when abundant federal "No Child Left Behind" money became available to assist schools in meeting WASL "standards." These consultant groups are omnipresent now since that federal money has provided inspiration for many retired administrators and teachers to contract with school districts to evaluate "literacy" learning in preparation for the WASL. Unfortunately, many of these groups are composed of former administrators who were promoted to administration because of nepotism or teaching incompetence, two frequent reasons for promotion to an administrative job, a position which is most often attained through promotion rather than merit or application. Similarly, "consultant" groups are often hired on the basis of nepotism, or familiarity with a school's principal, to evaluate and to make "suggestions" for improving WASL scores. Consequently, these consultants may frequently be lacking the knowledge and background necessary for accurate evaluation since many administrators are lacking in extended experience in competent classroom teaching and spend very little time in the classroom as administrators.

In my school, we were subjected to such a group of "consultants," which consisted of three retired principals and one retired teacher, wife of one of the principals. The group was hired when a fairly large sum of federal money became available to raise WASL test scores in my school, and the faculty was asked to decide how to spend the money. After brainstorming various possibilities, further input from teachers was rejected, and the principal unilaterally informed teachers that these "consultants" were hired and would be visiting classrooms to observe and evaluate. Since I had taught under two of the principals, I was quite familiar with their teaching "expertise," which was nonexistent. The teacher "consultant" was a teacher whom I had respected, but she had been retired for some time, making her unfamiliar with the WASL world. Also, her expertise was in social studies, a fact which limited her qualifications to judge a gamut of classes.

The conclusions and helpfulness of this group seemed quite incommensurate with the huge sum of money paid for their services. The report on their findings was based mainly on what they perceived as a need to incorporate the principles of ITIP into instruction. ITIP is educationalese for Instructional Theory into Practice, a theory of teaching practice which is very valid and which I use in my teaching. However, since ITIP is an extremely traditional theory, known to most teachers, I question the expenditure of so much money to acquire redundant knowledge. The expensive report of that "consultant group" had no discernible effect on learning proficiency or WASL scores in my school.

This waste of money for WASL consultants is especially deplorable when one considers that this is a school and school district in which money is "unavailable" to provide each child with a textbook for his or her use at home. I had one classroom set of each textbook for all of my classes, and consequently my students could use the textbook only in class. There were not enough books to allow students to take them home for further study, as many students wanted to do. In some classes, textbooks were completely eliminated because of an apparent administrative belief that books are outmoded. That district's belief that books are unnecessary is unfathomable. Many school administrators do not understand that money could be more effectively spent in providing materials that will increase literacy and thereby raise scores. Children become better readers by reading. Paying "consultant" groups huge amounts of money that could be used for reading materials will not raise WASL test scores.

As a taxpayer, I strongly resent the incredible waste of money on "consultants" and on the test itself. But that is a topic for another "dissertation." The WASL is "big business" for many predatory leeches, including the so-called "consultant groups."
Teacher B