How long is our state superintendent of public instruction, Terry Bergeson, going to hold on to the idea that the WASL is a “well-designed test?”
My son took the state required ITBS test in the sixth grade and ranked in the 95th percentile overall. Because he scored in the 98th percentile in the test’s verbal portion, he will take part in the Johns Hopkins University Talent Search program. He will be taking the SAT with my high-schooler. For the last two years, he has been ranked post high school according to the Stanford Achievement Test.
Yet, on last year’s seventh grade WASL, he failed to meet the standards. He will be a member of the first graduating class required to pass this test. How do I tell him that his nationally recognized successes will mean nothing and that his graduation is completely dependent on a flawed test?
Ms. Bergeson said, “We must abandon our obsession with the WASL.” I believe there are many teachers, students and parents willing to abandon the WASL altogether. Ms. Bergeson needs to abandon her devotion to the WASL and get rid of it.
Edmonds
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