SB 5246: test scores for me, but not for thee

Washington State stands to lose $44 million in federal funds if the legislature fails to meet Obama Administration demands to include state test scores in teacher evaluations, The Daily O reports:

State law already requires that student growth data be a significant factor in teacher and principal evaluations. But current law allows the districts to decide which tests to use: classroom-based, school-based, district-based or statewide.

The U.S. Department of Education has set a May deadline for the state to change the system in order to keep its waiver.

Solution #1: pressure the DOE to backpedal.

[S]ome Democrats are hoping that the state’s congressional delegation will persuade U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the U.S. Department of Education to grant Washington a waiver anyway, even if state lawmakers fail to specify which tests must play a role in teacher evaluations.

It's a risky strategy, given that other states have already been denied waivers. Hence, Solution #2:

Senate education leaders are trying to address the problem themselves, rather than relying on members of Congress. A Senate education panel last week advanced a bill that would not only require students’ scores on statewide tests to be used in teacher and principal evaluations, but also specifies how.

That how is found in Senate Bill 5246, which is currently sitting in the Rules Committee. It's worth a closer look, as it contains not one, but two problematic features.

First, the bill establishes evaluations that are inherently unfair, by holding otherwise similarly-situated teachers to different standards.

...for teachers who teach reading or language arts or mathematics in a grade in which the federally mandated statewide student assessments are administered, one of the multiple measures of student growth must be the student results on the relevant assessments.

"Student growth" is statutorily defined as progress measured in two points at time. So, if I'm a high school English teacher (and I am) teaching sophomores who are taking the Writing HSPE (which I'm not), then my students have to improve their performance over the last time they tested.

It sounds reasonable, until you take the time to reason it out. Even if the middle school test (the MSP) is carefully calibrated to be "the same" assessment of student ability, and even if the student performs to her true testing level in each session, and even if we can rule out natural maturation, there's a massive structural flaw.

As it stands, the assessments are taken three years apart. There's no good reason to praise the latest teacher for growth--or to punish the same teacher for lack of the same--when there are two or three (or maybe more) teachers who contribute to that growth in a three-year timespan.

Even if the assessment cycle can be kicked into higher gear--say, a pre-test in the Fall, and the "real deal" in the Spring--the system, at least above the elementary school level, still fails. I'm not going to take sole credit (or blame) for my hypothetical sophomores' argumentative writing skills, which they've honed (or dulled) in science or social studies and any other class that includes essay-writing. My class isn't offered in a vacuum.

The inequity exists horizontally as well. If you teach Band, Psychology, Calculus, or any other high school course that lacks a federally mandated assessment, you are held to a different standard; so, of course, the pessimistic (likely?) conclusion is that, in the name of rigor, policymakers will rush to test in those subjects as well.

Of course, should you get a raw deal in this dubious system, you can expect your district to navigate the nuances with respect for your unique situation and all the complex variables, right? Well...

Districts must use student growth data to create a rank order of teachers based on the amount of average student growth achieved in each teacher's classroom. The bottom quartile of teachers in the rank order shall be identified by the district as requiring additional support.

The arbitrary relative ranking proposal would force a high-performing district to provide "additional support" to its least awesome employees, even if their entire workforce is already awesome.

And I haven't even considered the practical and mathematical impossibilities of ranking teachers with diverse curricular assignments (for instance, I teach two "traditional" classrooms and two online-based Apex courses, so good luck comparing my impact to someone who teaches five 9th-grade Physical Science classes), or the inequity of ranking teachers who are test-bound against those who aren't.

I have no idea what the bill's prospects are. It could die a quiet death in the Rules Committee. It could fail on the Senate floor. It could get jammed in the House or in a conference committee. It could fail to get ink from Governor Inslee. Or, it could lurch zombielike past all those obstacles and start tearing at the guts of teacher morale.

Time will tell, and I will blog.

liveblogging the WEA Chinook Legislative Forum

4:56 p.m.
Why am I at the WEA Chinook Legislative Forum?
a. To hear legislators talk about the issues.
b. To grab my local representatives by the collective earlobes.
c. To avoid the deluge outside.
d. All of the above.

5:34
Oh. I guess it was snacks and chit-chat until 5:30. Guess I could've rolled in a half hour later. Gary Gerst emcees, asking folks to "keep it rolling."

5:37
In attendance: Brendan Williams (22nd), Sam Hunt (22nd), and Kathy Haigh (35th). Gary Alexander is rumored to be on the way. (And he showed up.)

5:40
A question: what should we expect in the upcoming session?

Kathy Haigh: "I think it's going to be short." "Another $2 billion down, and no significant funding coming from the feds.... It's going to be significant cuts.... We should all be keeping a close eye on [the] health care issue." If the feds stepped in to fund our "Apple" health care for kids, that'd help. ECAP is the "absolute wrong place" to cut from. I-728, 732 are (still) at risk. Levy equalization funds won't be touched. Higher Ed--expect another tuition increase, even letting schools set their own tuition rates.

Brendan Williams: "At the risk of sounding like a liberal Democrat..." The legislature could have raised taxes, but "the votes were bought to keep that from occurring." "I did not vote for [728 and 732] to be suspended." Cutting programs from K-12 education is "the pricetag for political careerism." "It's time to meaningfully distinguish ourselves, with all due respect, from the opposition."

Gary Alexander: "Unlike my friend to the left, I think our first challenge is to see what we can do to reduce the budget. Government will not pull us out of the recession." "We can't continue to cut around the edges... We have to go back and talk about what our priorities are: public health, public safety, and public education.... This may mean the elimination of entire services... that can be replaced by the private sector." "We have to basically produce results that will be sustainable on a long-term basis." I'm not going to vote for a policy that doesn't have any funding."

Sam Hunt: For years this state has kept the crazy old aunt in the closet... our broken tax system.... We have a "crazy tax system." "The sales go down and the caseloads go up every damn time you look at it... We've cut all the edges, we've cut all the low-hanging fruit." "I have some hope that the feds will help with Title I, and health care."

5:57
Question for Gary Alexander: Where do we cut?
Things that aren't basic public health, safety, or education: Public health care assistance that isn't matched by federal dollars. Privatize state liquor control board, state printing operations. (Question: Is that enough to find $2 billion? Answer: I don't know.)

6:04
Loopholes are discussed. Sam Hunt notes that it was the Lieutenant Governor's move to declare closing a loophole a "tax increase" that shut down debate at the outset. Kathy Haigh notes that we can't necessarily bank on a tax increase that won't take effect until after passing a plebiscite next November.

6:07
What about the recommendation to close the Maple Lane juvenile school?

Sam Hunt: It was unfair to put the option, Do we close Green Hill or Maple Lane? "I was very happy to see that the consultants' study recommended closing neither one; there was no cost savings to closing either one."

There's some further crosstalk on this issue, but I'm not an expert in these matters.

6:14
What's going to happen to the last remaining LID day?

Weeeeelllllll.....

6:16
David Johnston, OEA, discusses HB 2261, which broadened the definition of basic education--but without any attached funding. (It's the bill Alexander referred to earlier, having voted against it because of its precipitous ratio of expectations to appropriations.) Now that we're "living under it," what will the Legislature do to fund it--or will they repeal it?

Kathy Haigh: if we fund it, it has to be prioritized. Funding will come out of GAU and healthcare for those in poverty, some of the places in the budget where we have the "least accountability."

Brendan Williams: I doubt it'll be funded by its target date, 2018. "I'll bet your PAC $500" that it won't.

6:28
There's a discussion about Physical Education and obesity. I'm sitting in a chair clickety-clacking at a keyboard, so I'm not going to opine, simply out of fear of hypocrisy.

6:29
Kathy Haigh: "Everybody should do the Thriller dance at 8:05."

6:34
Sam Hunt talks about the "Core 24" provision, another unfunded mandate. Teachers aren't thrilled by it. He then answers a question about income tax--talking about a potentially more equitable tax system, a chance to reform a structure that hasn't been seriously debated since Booth Gardner was in office.

7:00
A few questions and comments came up after that, but my laptop battery decided it was done.

I may post some concluding thoughts in a while. That is, if the gale outside hasn't made mincemeat of the grid.

OEA recommends school board candidates

The Olympia Education Association's Candidate Interview Team recently interviewed the three candidates running for election to the Olympia School District Board of Directors: Allen Miller, Mark Campeau, and Eileen Thomson. In this unusual election season, all three are running for the first time after having previously served via appointment to their respective positions--and all three are running unopposed.

Allen Miller
The OEA Candidate Interview Team recommends Director Allen Miller for the Olympia School Board District 2 position. Director Miller expanded on his written responses during an interview on October 15th at the OEA office. He emphasized the importance of open communication, trust, respect and collaboration as key elements in his role as a Board member and across groups and interests in the district. Director Miller stated that he would use the District’s Strategic Plan to guide his decisions on policy and the district budget. In budget development, Director Miller listed his priorities as, first, keeping future cuts as far from the classroom as possible, and second, employing a transparent, inclusive process. Director Miller invited communication from teachers and suggested that email was the best way to contact him with questions or concerns. We encourage Director Miller to take a more proactive role in reaching out to faculty and staff across the District.

Mark Campeau
The OEA Candidate Interview Team recommends Director Mark Campeau for the Olympia School Board District 5 position. Director Campeau responded to questions during an interview on October 15th at the OEA office. He identified the importance of the Board’s role in providing clear, strong policy leadership as a key element in improving student learning. Director Campeau felt that the District’s Strategic Plan was a good guiding document for the Board to use in its decision-making processes for budget and policy issues. He emphasized the need for adequate resources to allow teachers to meet the needs of their current students. He stated that he had enjoyed visiting buildings and talking with teaching staff and emphasized the importance of hearing from a variety of sources about concerns and successes in the District. He plans to continue his visits. Director Campeau included maintaining class size and programs focused on improving student learning as key considerations in the budget development process. We applaud Director Campeau for his efforts to build relationships with faculty and staff across the District.

Eileen Thompson
The OEA Candidate Interview Team recommends Director Eileen Thompson for the Olympia School Board District 3 position. Director Thompson responded in writing to questions from the Candidate Interview Team. In her responses, she included open access, improved communication and improving student learning as critical elements to be addressed in her role as a member of the Board. Director Thompson felt that the District’s Strategic Plan should serve as the guiding document for her decisions on the Board. In the budget process, she emphasized maintaining an open, inclusive process and keeping future cuts away from the classroom as priorities. Director Thompson stated that she has enjoyed spending time in buildings and welcomes communication with staff members. We applaud Director Thomson for her efforts to include new voices in the District conversation.



For the second election running, the OEA Candidate Interview Team included myself, Sharyn Merrigan, and Dan McCartan.

in today's education headlines

1. Kent teachers defy court order; continue strike. (There's no Becca Bill for teachers.)

2. Obama urges all children to assimilate into the Borg.

3. An instrumental version of "Ave Maria" breaches the wall of separation, apparently.

Happy school year, everybody.

(Oh, and one more: Washington's doomsayers predict swine flu for a third of us.)

strikes and lawsuits and swine flu...

...add your own "Oh my."

The school year commences in Washington state with a strike in the Kent district...

More than 1,000 striking teachers packed the picket line outside Kent School District headquarters Friday to let everyone know about their unhappiness with contract talks.

With only two days left to work out an agreement before school is supposed to start, striking teachers from every school in the Kent district showed up for the rally.

"We feel very put against the wall, painted into a corner - very disrespected that the district wasn't willing to bargain," says teacher Pat Deming.

Meanwhile, the Teamsters did a drive-by of support for the teachers' demands from the district as some teachers shouted, "Class size! Class size! Class size!"

(And read Ryan's take for some criticism of a critic; Lake Stevens is striking, too; at least Shoreline seems to have avoided the worst.)

...and a court date for the NEWS lawsuit...

Right in the middle of a recession that has created the worst atmosphere for school budgeting in decades, a coalition of Washington school districts, parents, teachers and community groups is going to court Monday to demand that the state start paying the full cost of education.

Attorneys for both sides say the economy will have little or no influence on the outcome of the non-jury trail, scheduled to begin on the first day of the school year for many district and to continue for six weeks of testimony in King County Superior Court before Judge John Erlick.

School districts have been struggling economically for decades, so while the recession makes things worse it doesn't make them different, said Mike Blair, chair of the group calling itself Network for Excellence in Washington Schools.

...and, of course, a potentially deadly flu strain.

Yay?

why the North Thurston levy will pass this time

The North Thurston levy is going to pass.

Why? Because of coordinated, energetic activism, which leads to a lot of supportive horn-honks at the corner of Lilly and Martin on a Friday afternoon. That's why.

Update 5/20: And it did.

district secretaries hold candlelight vigil

Before the most recent Board meeting, Olympia School District secretaries demonstrated outside Hansen Elementary:

The Olympia Educational Administrative Professionals Association, which has more than 50 members, overwhelmingly rejected the district’s last offer in contract negotiations for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years. And the big issue was pay raises, said Dan Cuomo, a union representative with the Washington Education Association UniServ Council.

In the 2007-08 school year, for example, the district offered to give the secretaries a 3.7 percent cost-of-living salary increase that would be funded with state and local dollars.

Plus, the district offered to use local funds to increase pay for employees at a handful of steps on the secretaries’ salary schedule.

But about three quarters of Olympia’s secretaries have so much work experience that they have reached the upper end of the district’s salary schedule. And those employees wouldn’t see much additional money beyond the 3.7 percent cost-of-living increase, Cuomo said.

“The additional monies were almost nonexistent,” Cuomo said. “The very little they were offering was not across the board. That’s the big stumbling block.”

That’s why nearly 50 secretaries and supporters decided to have a candlelight vigil at Hansen Elementary on Monday before the Olympia School Board meeting there.

Commentator X-TAR gets it half right:

Here is a small bit of advise [sic].

If you don't like it..QUIT and find another job that fits your pay requirements.

That cuts both ways. If you want to hire and retain effective staff, you have to pay them a decent and competitive wage.

Oh, and to those who say that school secretaries are replaceable, transferable, or otherwise redundant: with any more than a day's experience in any school, you'll know just how wrong that is. School secretaries of all stripes are the glue that holds the system together.

great moments in collective bargaining history

Compliments of the greatest union president of all time.

Shoreline, Issaquah, Bethel strikes over

Shoreline, Issaquah, and Bethel students are all heading to class, reports today's Seattle Times.

Elizabeth Beck, co-president of Shoreline Education Association, which represents the district's teachers, said the teacher's union approved the contract with a 79 percent majority....

Issaquah students will go to school as scheduled today after members of the Issaquah Education Association voted 508-11 to approve the contract....

And Bethel teachers, who have been striking since Aug. 30, when school was supposed to have started, will return to their classrooms Wednesday after approving a new contract Tuesday night. Members of the Bethel Education Association voted 84 percent in favor of the new two-year contract.

I said I was 90% sure that Bethel's strike was done. I'm sure the reader will pardon the excess 6% confidence.

Now--back to school.

Bethel strike over?

It could be history a mere six days after beginning, KOMO reports:

Striking teachers and the Bethel School District reached a tentative contract agreement Monday that could end a short strike. Union officials say teachers could be in their classrooms as soon as Wednesday.

Bethel Education Association President Tom Cruver did not release any details of the settlement, which came after 25 hours of weekend negotiations, but he called it fair.

"It would be fair to say that both sides worked to find a middle ground," he said.

Teachers will vote Tuesday evening. If they ratify the contract, school will resume on Wednesday, Cruver said.

Based on Cruver's words, I'd wager with about 90% confidence that the teachers will ratify the contract.

Across Puget Sound, the Shoreline EA, meanwhile, moves closer to picketing.

Bethel on strike; school delayed indefinitely

This is a shout-out to the striking teachers in Bethel, who will hit the pavement to picket tomorrow after yesterday's bargaining breakdown.

Classes had been set to resume Thursday, but schools will remain closed at least through the end of the week, according to the notice. About 1,050 teachers and 18,000 students are affected.

In a notice posted on the school district's Web site, School Superintendent Tom Siegel said the Bethel Education Association gave strike notice last night.

"The Bethel Education Association informed the district late Tuesday Aug. 28 that their members were on strike," the posting said.

"We are hopeful that negotiations will continue over the weekend with the goal of opening school as soon as possible," Siegel wrote, adding that the school district had presented the last offer and was waiting for a response.

Both sides are at odds over compensation, workload and health care benefits. The district said their latest offer increased total compensation [by] 6.5 [and] 6.9 percent under terms of a two-year contract.

Here's hoping for a swift and reasonable resolution. No one likes a strike--teachers least of all.

Update 9/1: After a hard day's negotiation, still no resolution.

Tuesday is the earliest classes could begin, but that now looks unlikely.

Cruver says even if a proposed deal was reached soon, some vacationing teachers would not be able to see it until their return home on Monday.

"We have a 24-hour time for people to look at those contracts," Cruver said. "You know how thick they are and how much there is, so we are hopeful things can start as soon as possible as soon as we reach a tentative agreement, if that is even possible at this point."

The district says it will notify parents by phone Sunday evening at the latest.

That's Bethel EA president Tom Cruver. From his speech to the union, given this past May:

We care about these issues because they are our issues. Your yes vote today tells the district that you support our bargaining team. We want the district to quit stalling and we want a fair and equitable contract before school begins next fall. Our numbers empower our bargaining team to obtain a breakthrough contract.

They voted yes. Just how close they are to the breakthrough remains to be seen.

a date with the bargaining team

Yesterday afternoon the Olympia EA hosted an informal gabfest over drinks and hors d'oeuvres at Mercato, to hear about pressing issues, but also to give members at least some sense of the complexities and compromises inherent in negotiation.

Before opening up a forum, the bargaining team shared strategy and its operating maxims. Though I won't list them here, I will say that, surprisingly, given some of the discussion, all of the maxims are framed negatively--"Don't do this," "Don't allow that." I tend to find positive goals more encouraging and less of a defensive stance, so I'd encourage the team to think about reworking them as positive statements.

I'll add more thoughts once I've thoroughly digested everything in my notes.

Oh, and word on the street is that I blog about local union activity, as well as a range of state and national educational concerns, offering pithy commentary and sage advice to the masses. But don't tell anyone.

the briefest summary of all

Lobby Day in three sentences:

A squad of WEA members from the Olympia area visited with their local legislators on Presidents' Day. They advocated for smaller class sizes, all-day kindergarten and improved compensation. "I'm interested in learning more and getting more involved," said Cindy Roaf, president of the Shelton ESP.

Lobby Day in one word: fun.

Lobby Day visits with Karen Fraser, Gary Alexander, and Kathy Haigh

On a drizzly Monday, several WEA members joined up to lobby area legislators, including Karen Fraser, Gary Alexander, and Kathy Haigh. What follows is a summary of the various Lobby Day conversations regarding WEA priorities. Not available: Brendan Williams and Sam Hunt. Not included: the conversations I wasn't a party to.

Sen. Karen Fraser, Democrat, 22nd Dist. (info)
The state wants more money. Where to get it? I know, says Chris Gregoire: public employees' pensions. Eliminating gainsharing, a practice where state workers receive additional benefits when state investments earn above a set interest point, would raise revenue for a state strapped for cash hungry for new outlays. Fraser is distressed that Gregoire and high-ranking legislators are trying to eviscerate the program. Her bill, a concession, would preserve gainsharing for teachers hired before July 1, 2007. After that, nothing.

(Want the in-depth impacts? Read the fiscal note. We're talking hundreds of millions of broken promises dollars--and this is just the compromise.)

Fraser said that gainsharing is "going down to the wire." Pressure from public employees might be the main obstacle to its elimination.


Rep. Gary Alexander, Republican, 20th Dist. (info)
Representative Alexander was glad to talk to us about compensation, and was sure to mention the issues he thinks get passed by in the ongoing conversation about ed reform: special needs and transportation. (He didn't go into much detail about the latter.) Alexander is against one-size-fits-all education, telling us how much he'd like to see stronger vocational education, but, paradoxically, not wanting to give a high school diploma to anyone who can't pass the WASL. Several times he mentioned how some students just aren't served by the current model, and yet he never acknowledged the contradiction in his support for the dubious exit exam.

When asked about gainsharing, Alexander was quick to mention HB 2116, a different sort of compromise. Right now, gainsharing kicks in when pension investments top a 10% rate of return. Under Alexander's proposal, the "trigger" would be raised to 14%, reducing the state's odds of liability by almost two thirds. (A 14% rate of return is 64% less likely. Read the whole fiscal note if you dare. Alexander noted that the legality of the proposition--having different gainsharing options for old and new hires--is under investigation.) I asked Alexander what would replace gainsharing as a recruiting tool if it were done away with. He didn't really have an answer.

One bill Alexander is sponsoring would allow students who pass the WASL to skip the "intermediate" step of their licensing [pdf], the time when they can drive only during limited hours and without young passengers. Another secondarily sponsored by Alexander would force the legislature to determine proper education funding before passing an omnibus appropriation--in essence, making education a priority not just in emphasis, but in time. (Alexander didn't talk about either bill during our chat.)

In all, Alexander offered tentative support for some WEA concerns, especially in the area of fully funding education.


Rep. Kathy Haigh, Democrat, 35th Dist. (info)
Kathy Haigh, chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, kept pulling out a copy of the budget whenever we'd ask about upcoming agenda items. She declared her support for smaller class sizes for K-3 classes, and said she wanted to commit $50 million in the upcoming session to fund all-day kindergarten, at least for free and reduced lunch students. She "totally support[s] the simple majority" for levies, which would give rural districts greater ability to fund classroom renovations and technological upgrades. (Last year she cosponsored a similar bill that passed the House only to fail in the Senate.)

When we brought up pensions, she admitted, "I don't know anything about gainsharing. I'm not in the middle of that fight."


Summary
It's a good year for state government, which means that everyone wants a piece of the lasagna.

"It's a lot harder when you have a bunch of money," says Victor Moore, the governor's budget director and former House Appropriations staff director. "When you don't have money, there is a simple response to why you're not giving them anything. When there's money, you have to make arguments about priorities, why this investment and not another. It's tough and everybody wants their little $10 million appropriation."

Today the WEA was another voice in a cacophony of concerns, requests, and demands. When dozens of interest groups descend on the Capitol in a day, it's easy for issues to get lost in the noise. Union members who want their needs met have to keep contacting their legislators beyond Lobby Day, to keep reminding them of their promises to constituents and their obligations to the state's "paramount duty."



Sidebar: Among the more colorful and obnoxious interest groups were the Where's the Math folks, parading kids around as political props and chanting on the Capitol steps. One middle-aged demonstrator sported a placard reading, "Less Words! More Numbers!"

That would be fewer words. If only they'd had a writing WASL thirty years ago.

lobby day for the WEA

Here are some things we'll be chatting about with the legislators this lovely Lobby Day. Via email:

Smaller class sizes will improve student achievement
Parents, teachers and students all know that small class sizes help students learn. Research shows it, too. With fewer students, teachers can give students the personal attention they need and deserve. For WEA's 80,000 members, smaller class sizes are among the top three priorities for this legislative session. Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed spending $90 million on new class-size-reduction programs. That's a good start, but nowhere near enough: Washington's class sizes are 47th in the nation (pdf). Yet some lawmakers reportedly want to spend even less than the governor proposed for smaller class sizes. That's a bad idea, and it will make it even harder for our state's students to meet high academic standards. In coming weeks, WEA members will be sending their legislators a clear message: Investing in smaller class sizes will improve student achievement. Invest more, not less, on smaller class sizes.

Protect gainsharing
The proposals to reduce educators’ pensions now have bill numbers.
House Bill 1771/Senate Bill 5779 eliminate gainsharing. Senate Bill 5668 and House Bill 2116 eliminate gainsharing for future school employees. WEA opposes all of the bills and any attempt to repeal gainsharing.

Gainsharing benefits education employees in retirement Plans 1 and 3 and increases their monthly pension checks. Gainsharing benefits about 50,000 WEA members, said Dave Scott, WEA vice president....

ESA bill would pay for experience
Education staff associates (ESAs) should get salary credit for their years in the private sector. ESAs include school counselors, nurses, psychologists and therapists -- people who are well-paid in the private sector. In most cases, though, they start at the lowest salary level when they join a school staff. State law doesn't recognize their private-sector experience as a factor in salary funding. That makes it more difficult to find people to fill those positions....

Fix and fully fund the so-called NCLB, teachers say
Two teachers testified this week about a memorial urging President Bush and Congress to fix and fully fund the ESEA, the so-called No Child Left Behind Act. It's up for reauthorization this year, but it's never been fully funded. It also has major policy flaws.

"You have the opportunity to use this legislation to send a message to Congress about education reform," Suzanne Mayer told the House Education Committee. Mayer is a middle school teacher from the Highline Education Association. Spokane EA member Idalia Apodaca also testified on House Joint Memorial 4012.

Keep the high standards, but fix the WASL
The WASL should not be used as a high-stakes test that prevents students from graduating, WEA representatives testified this week. WEA supports the state's high academic standards, said Mary Lindquist, but opposes using the WASL as a barrier to graduation. The WASL should be one of several assessments used to measure whether students should graduate, she told the Senate education committee.

Lindquist, Mercer Island EA president, testified about Senate Bill 5165, which would delay using the math WASL as a graduation requirement. She encouraged lawmakers to delay all sections of the WASL and to use the time for a complete review of the WASL-based assessment system. The state must also provide adequate school funding for smaller class sizes and other needs, she said. WEA supports Senate Bill 6023, which offers students additional assessment and instruction options after failing the WASL once. Lindquist said SB 6023 is good for students and gives them flexibility.

Status of the various efforts: every single bill listed above (go to http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature, choose "bill search" and type in the number) is in committee.

As I note on my other blog, I'll have the full report later.