and I said it couldn't be done

I've been searching high and low for an old media article that acknowledges WASL's flaws, instead of minimizing them. Finally, I've found it.

Very harsh words about Washington state's math programs were voiced Friday from nationally renowned math experts.

The professors are in Seattle for a seminar on the math crisis. With nearly half of Washington’s 10th graders failing the math WASL, critics say the state's math standards get an "F" and should be completely scrapped. They say the WASL should be completely reworked....

National experts at a forum in Seattle say Washington state should scrap its math standards and start over. They suggest getting rid of calculators until at least the 6th grade, and focus on basic arithmetic.

"That’s one thing that has parents rightly upset -- their children are being denied arithmetic in a way its kind of intellectual child abuse," said Prof. David Kline at California State.

Also, they call Washington’s WASL math test appalling.

"The test has to be reworked, completely reworked," Prof. David Milgram at Stanford University. “And professional mathematicians have to go over the questions before they see the light of day."

I was with him until the "child abuse" part, which is indefensible hyperbole. Otherwise, it's good to see WASL skepticism in print.