[lkco]

I may be naive but I still don't get why kids are scoring poorly on the WASL. I have 4 kids in public schools. My first has extreme math anxiety and has always scored 4’s (although one was a low 4). My second is dyslexic off the charts, but has always scored high 4’s in reading and writing. The younger two haven't started WASL yet, but their impression is that it's an easy school week with less homework and extra time to read and sleep (with extra snacks at school).

I don't see why the WASL has become such an issue. Before we moved here to WA my kids did the Iowa test every year ... I didn't hear many complaints (except it was more of an IQ test than a learning test). I still don't get why teachers and unions and parents get so passionate about this WASL ... don't tell me that classroom time is so precious that kids can't afford to miss any of it for WASL. Good teachers still get the job done.

[schu]

There are a bunch of reasons kids do not do well on the test.

That is not the issue IMHO. The issue is that kids are now required to pass the WASL to graduate from HS, a large percentage are not passing and parents want to know why. So now the entrenched government bureaucracy and the WEA have to answer for this.

They should have just used the Iowa test, but they decided to create their own. Now they need to show progress and they are not. In some ways it is good as the incompetence and corruption of the education establishment is exposed.

This is why they do not like the test, because they are failing. The worst thing we can do is let them off the hook, you created it, now make it work.

schu