http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/columnists/callaghan/story/317515.html
In a witty and well written article, Peter Callaghan shares a little of what makes the campaign trail a trial for State Legislative Candidates.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The WASL!?!
I don't really know how to feel about the WASL. We need a standard to hold students (and schools) accountable to. Benchmark and standards type testing can be very beneficial as a motivational tool to get schools to do a better job of teaching- but the WASL is so problematic.
Reading and writing seem to be doing the trick. However, math and science are obviously struggling- with math being a candidate for boondoggle of the decade. Now the Tacoma News Tribune (http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/298283.html) has published a story on the run away costs of administering the test.
What really doesn't make sense is why we felt a need to go out and create a test in the first place. There are several tests out there that do a good job, are readily available and would have saved us a lot of time and money. At some point the "legislative-powers-that-be" need to stop spending our money on egocentric theories of education and realize that there are others out there who do it better.
The results of the WASL? Students who don't think they need to take the test seriously (partially a fault of the media who keeps predicting the downfall of the ability of the state to hold them accountable). Parents and a community who think Washington education is a joke. An inordinate amount of time spent preparing students for a faulty test system. And now- additional costs. Come on Olympia- We deserve better!
Reading and writing seem to be doing the trick. However, math and science are obviously struggling- with math being a candidate for boondoggle of the decade. Now the Tacoma News Tribune (http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/298283.html) has published a story on the run away costs of administering the test.
What really doesn't make sense is why we felt a need to go out and create a test in the first place. There are several tests out there that do a good job, are readily available and would have saved us a lot of time and money. At some point the "legislative-powers-that-be" need to stop spending our money on egocentric theories of education and realize that there are others out there who do it better.
The results of the WASL? Students who don't think they need to take the test seriously (partially a fault of the media who keeps predicting the downfall of the ability of the state to hold them accountable). Parents and a community who think Washington education is a joke. An inordinate amount of time spent preparing students for a faulty test system. And now- additional costs. Come on Olympia- We deserve better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
