Re: Press Release-- Walk Against WASL

[aburke5054@aol.com]

On the other hand, the Association of Washington School Principals 
supports the WASL and its use as a graduation requirement....

January 9, 2006

Contact:          Jocelyn McCabe, Director of Communications
                       Association of Washington School Principals 
(AWSP)
                      360.357.7951 or 360.951.5269 (mobile)
                      jocelyn@awsp.org


Principals Back WASL, Graduation Requirements
State principals' group urges lawmakers to move ahead with ed reform

OLYMPIA - The state's largest professional association for public 
school principals today urged lawmakers on the first day of the 
legislative session to retain the 10th-grade WASL as a graduation 
requirement and invest in K-12 education this session to help all 
students achieve state standards.

"Our members continue to support high standards for all students and 
keeping the 10th-grade WASL as one of several high school graduation 
requirements," said Gary Kipp, executive director of the Association of 
Washington School Principals (AWSP). "We are confident in our 
principals-and their teachers' abilities-to help students meet these 
new expectations. There are multiple opportunities for students to 
demonstrate their abilities in reading, writing and math through 
retakes and alternative measures now being developed."...

Source:  
http://www.awsp.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Press_Releases1&Template=/CM/
HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3300

Art
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-----Original Message-----
From: Jedoyon@aol.com
To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
Sent: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 11:08:58 EST
Subject: [arn-l] Press Release-- Walk Against WASL

    PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Date: March 9, 2006


Parent Empowerment Network organizes 5th Annual WALK AGAINST WASL



 Contacts: Juanita Doyon, Director, Mothers Against WASL, Spanaway, 
253/973-1593

 Rachel DeBellis, Executive Board Member, Marysville, 360/708-9323
Lisa Sampson, Executive Board Member, Vancouver, 360/608-4896

 Shelley Anderson, Area Coordinator, Spokane, 509/326-9295


Parent Empowerment Network/Mothers Against WASL will hold its 5th 
Annual, Mothers and Others Walk Against WASL, Monday, March 13th, in 
Olympia. Protesters will meet on the steps of the Capitol at 10:30 am 
and march to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.



 "WASL has had its chance to abuse our students, teachers and schools 
for too long. It has taken the profession out of teaching, drained the 
joy out of learning, and sapped hundreds of millions of our precious 
education dollars. It has done all of this without ever having been 
proven valid or reliable by anyone independent of its creators," said 
Juanita Doyon, director of Parent Empowerment Network. "Despite much 
debate, the legislature has failed to pass legislation that will save 
this year's 10th graders from being guinea pigs for this graduation 
requirement folly. Even the bill approving WASL alternatives demeans 
students, who must fail the WASL twice before being offered an 
alternative assessment. These alternatives still fail to meet the needs 
of students with learning disabilities and students who are not 
proficient English speakers."



Main concerns:



 Discrimination-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. Without the 
guarantee of statewide, uniform services to students in all grades, a 
statewide uniform achievement bar (WASL) is morally and legally 
indefensible.



 Inappropriate and subjective testing-WASL has been proven to be 
inappropriate to grade level. The test requires a state-mandated 
thought process and tests how students think rather than what they know.



 Cost-WASL costs $72 per student to administer. Iowa Test of Basic 
Skills costs $2.99.



 Use of WASL for class placement and graduation-No one test should 
determine a student's future. WASL scores are currently used to 
determine placement in remedial classes, denying students the 
opportunity to pursue enrichment subjects such as art and music. This 
year's 10th graders are currently required to pass the WASL in order to 
receive their high school diploma.



 Use of WASL to determine curricula-Because WASL is being used to 
determine school and student success and failure, districts are 
adopting curricula to align with WASL requirements. This is not an 
appropriate educational practice. Curricula should be adopted to align 
with student and community needs, not the narrow goal of test passage.



 Parent Empowerment Network (PEN) is a nonprofit organization. The 
mission of PEN is to provide education and peer training to parents, 
teachers, and community members at-large, in developing strategies to 
promote sound policy for quality public schools.