We have two sons — a freshman and a fifth grader. I am at work this morning at 6:56 because my older son, Max, is sleeping in which is good for his growth and good for being able to stay up a little later on a school night. Why is he able to do this? It is WASL week on Vashon Island.
For those of you from out of town, WASL stands for Washington Assessment of Student Learning and this is a high-stakes test that does not test student learning, but instead tests how well students are prepared for taking this convoluted test. The history is long and sordid, but suffice it to say the test was originally designed (by committee, of course) to test systems, not individuals. The original idea was that it was a test that allowed school districts to see where their strengths and weakness were and allowed them to teach “higher thinking” skills.
It is, supposedly, the fourth most difficult test in the country in terms of how it is measured. It is extremely expensive to give. It also takes away an infinite number of hours that could be spent learning and, sadly, the unintended consequences include a huge narrowing of curriculum, a lack of arts and other important subjects (civics), a curriculum which forces teachers to teach to a test they hate, an unbelievable number of rules that demoralize students, teachers and school administrators and, saddest of all, dropouts.
I could go on and on about the WASL. It doesn’t truly test what a child is learning. It makes children throw up. It pits teacher against teacher. It is the test our state uses to measure the Elementary Secondary Education Act, otherwise known as No Child Left Behind. Schools with underachieving students or poor students or students who have disabilities or students who just arrived from other countries end up penalized instead of helped.
Teachers who would normally want to help students with higher needs have to think that through many times over because they are constantly under pressure to teach to the WASL instead of teaching students the real skills they need to succeed. I could go on and on.
As a parent of two pretty traditional learners, it is no big deal for my kids to pass. They do what they are told, and they just plod along during the test weeks year after year. Our older son, Max, is pretty even-keeled. He thinks the tests are relatively “stupid” but he knows it’s another hoop. Our younger son goes to a school where they practically have to beg them to take the test seriously. His big epiphany was years ago, in first grade, when he asked why it was so important to “show your work.” He pointed out that if he worked at a bank and showed his work, but made mistakes in his math he would be fired where if he never showed his work, but always balanced the books, he would not be fired. Our older one has figured out how to “show his work” in a way that gets more points.
Th saddest part of the whole thing for me, as a parent, is that kids learn less because of the WASL. They go on fewer field trips; they are forced to concentrate on subjects to a point of complete ad nauseum; certain groups are singled out in schools as to why they are not measuring up (there is a whole separate debate here, but I won’t go into it); and teachers who went into teaching because they loved the idea of inspiring children with their passion for learning are leaving in droves because they didn’t go into this field to teach to a test that, in reality, doesn’t show teachers whether or not their methods are working (except to let them know they have learned how to teach to one test).
I have asked both of my children to opt out although that is becoming harder as they have made the WASL a graduation requirement — well part of it. They used to have a listening section, but students did so well on that, they eliminated it. Nearly half of the students in Washington are not passing the math WASL so they have pushed that requirement back. Teachers are clamoring to get their subject a WASL because if it’s a WASL, you can bet schools will put their already-limited (and vastly underfunded) resources toward teaching it. Did I mention the high-stakes nature of this test also breeds corruption at every level?
I am sad for teachers and students who have to go through this every year. I am hoping we can finally oust a state superintendent of education who is so connected to this test that she has lost sight of the damage it causes. I am sad for the thousands of students who have had to make this test an intricate part of their lives.
I wish parents and teachers and students would stand together and say, “NO MORE!” This test is too damaging to too many students and it is not good for reaching our goals which include teaching students to be lifelong learners and to have a passion for learning. Ah well, it WASL season. This too will pass.
