It’s a debate that can be heard in schools and along the sidelines of soccer fields in Snohomish County and beyond: Where should the line be drawn between rigorous state exams and earning a high school diploma?
There are no easy answers.
Just ask the state’s Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission. After months of information gathering, meetings and surveys, the citizen panel in charge of overseeing the state’s education reform effort could not reach a consensus Monday on easing graduation standards.
At issue is student performance on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. Passing the 10th grade WASL will be a graduation requirement for the class of 2008, today’s ninth-graders.
The question was which level of achievement would be considered passing: basic or proficient. The two other levels, below basic and advanced, were not discussed.
Current law requires proficiency in three subject areas – math, reading and writing – with science proficiency to be added in 2010.
The nine-member commission, which met in a Tacoma hotel, has until Nov. 30 to make a recommendation to the Legislature. While another meeting is possible, the panel likely will forward Monday’s results, said David Fisher, chairman and Washington site manager for Intel.
“I would have liked to have seen us reach a strong consensus,” he said. “But I’m not sure this is a bad result. It clearly demonstrates the range of concern … about what is the best course.”
The Legislature is not required to change the current standard, but just 39 percent of the state’s 10th graders passed the three key subjects when the statewide test was administered last spring.
And while 44 percent of whites and 47 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders passed, just 16 percent of Hispanics, 14 percent of blacks and 20 percent of American Indians passed.
On Monday, there was little consensus on what level of performance on the WASL to require for graduation.
Many local leaders believe the current requirements should be kept in place.
Karen Madsen, a member of the Everett School Board who taught in schools for 10 years, testified before the commission Monday, arguing that she has seen too much progress at the district, school and classroom level to ease up.
“Why would we want to have a set of world-class standards and then not really care if we find out whether students have achieved them?” she said.
“It would make my life as a parent easier and it would certainly make my life as a school board member easier (to lower expectations), but the truth is I don’t think that is the right thing to do,” she said.
Madsen said she believed the commission’s inability to reach an agreement mirrored the feelings in many communities across the state.
“I think the community at large is conflicted over the stress on the one hand and on the other hand wanting it to be meaningful,” she said.
Monroe School District Superintendent Bill Prenevost said he wished the commission could have come up with a clear definition of what is expected.
“I think it’s more of a concern being the parent of a current ninth grader and wondering, ‘What will the standards be?’” he said.
“I would prefer the clear standard of just passing all the areas,” he said.
Others hope the debate doesn’t detract from the efforts to help students reach existing goals.
“The standards we are asking children to reach are incredibly higher, way more than we have asked students to do before,” said Joel Thaut, superintendent of the Granite Falls School District. “We are on the right track. We are making good progress. Let’s just keep going.”
“We need to get past the hand-wringing about whether or not students can do this and just get to the business of actually helping them get there,” said Jennifer Vranek, executive director of the Partnership For Learning, a business-backed nonprofit organization pushing for high academic standards.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
The issue
The state’s Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission is discussing which level of achievement will be considered passing on the 10th-grade WASL exam: basic or proficient.
The issue
The state’s Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission is discussing which level of achievement will be considered passing on the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning exams: basic or proficient.
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