Posted on 11/07/2006 12:15:26 AM PST by Antioch
Nine year-old Tyler Stoken, a student in the Aberdeen Public School District, didn't know how to answer an essay question on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test. As punishment for leaving the question blank his principal suspended him for five days.
Tyler paraphrases the question saying, "You look out one day at school and see your principal flying by a window. In several paragraphs write what happens next." He's asked, "So why didn't you answer that question?" He says, "I couldn't think of what to write the essay without making fun of the principal."
He refused to answer the question even after his mother was called to the school. Tyler's mother Amy Wolfe says, "And he said he didn't know the answer. He just didn't know what to write. And they were telling me to make him answer the question."
He still didn't, so Tyler was given a 5-day suspension. In the letter that went home to mother, the principal writes, "The fact that Tyler chose to simply refuse to work on the WASL after many reasonable requests is none other than blatant defiance and insubordination." Shortly after receiving the suspension letter they received a phone call from Superintendent Marty Kay apologizing for the suspension.
"Because I think a mistake was made and over reacting to Tyler's refusal to complete the test," said Aberdeen school superintendent Marty Kay. ... The superintendent wants Tyler immediately re-instated at school. But Tyler’s mother says the damage has been done. Mom tells son, "Well, nobody will scream at you again. I promise you that." Tyler doesn't want to go to that school any more and you can't blame him. He was manipulated and then punished because he couldn't answer a test question.
WASL opponents also believe the principal and teachers broke the law by interfering with the WASL test. It had better have been a violation of the testing rules. If a teacher and principal browbeating a test taker into answering a question in any particular manner is not against the rules then the test is worse than useless.
Buzz! Wrong answer.
Even adults must earn respect.
Forcing someone to answer a test question? Beyond idiocy. You never left an answer blank on a test in your entire life?
Punishing someone for refusing to "make up crap"?
DISCLAIMER: We homeschooled, so I have very low regard for public "schools".
Yes, he simply should have gotten a big, fat zero on that question. Suspension was wrong though.
Probably so, but you can't know for sure because they don't mention the principal's name. Did you notice that? Huh! Can't even look the name up on Open Secrets.
There are only three problems. You can't dump the bad teachers, you can't dump the bad administrators, and you can't dump the bad students.
Any one of these three things would doom a private business, yet all three conditions are mandated in the public education system.
Maybe if I lived in Calif like you I could come up with answers like you. You know what, I'm glad I don't live in Calif.
Of course, that was 35 years ago, and we didn't have the assessment tests the kids have today, that can make or break a school.
Let's see here,how is not answering a question disrespectful to the teacher,principal or school?
IMHO,the kid was respectful by not answering the question that wasn't a question to begin with,with an essay.
Did you miss the part where he explained why he didn't answer the so called question?
His answer was "I couldn't think of what to write the essay without making fun of the principal."
He did show respect and answered the question.
The principals name is Olivia MCarthy.
Here is a copy of the Letter to the Mother.
The site with the suspension letter is offline so I am reproducing the letter here. Central Park School 601 School Road Aberdeen, WA 98520 May 6, 2005 Dear Ms. Wolfe: After much thought and after carefully weighing several factors, I have reached the following decision: Tyler is suspended from attendance at Central park school for a period of five (5) days beginning Monday, May 9, 2005 through Friday, May 13, 2005. This decision has been reached for the following reasons: Tyler refused, on six separate occasions, to comply with a reasonable request made by his teachers, myself, and even you, his parent. In schools, when a teacher or other staff member gives a direction or a request to perform, a student is expected to do so. In other instances where students have simply refused, consequences have been imposed. The fact that Tyler chose to simply refuse to work on the WASL after many reasonable requests is none other than blatant defiance and insubordination. Therefore, a reasonable consequence is a short-term suspension. Unfortunately, the consequences of Tyler’s decision do not end with this disciplinary action. Not only will his achievement be misrepresented on the highest stakes measure of academic performance he has met to date, but the scores of his classmates will also be invalid. As he chose NOT to perform, he will get a zero on that section, which will be averaged with the scores of all of the other students in his class: in this case, 10 other children. Obviously, a 0, when averaged with only 10 other scores, can drastically impact the average. Thus, he has compromised the representation of what his peers know and are able to do. Their scores will be reported as a group, not as individuals. Additionally, this extends to the whole fourth grade, as our school score, the one that is reported to the state and the media, is an average of all fourth grade students. Thus, his choice impacts Tyler, his classmates, his grade mates, and his school. As we have worked so hard this year to improve our writing skills, this is a particularly egregious wound. You have the right to an informal conference with me concerning this suspension, pursuant to WAC 180-40-280. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at XXX-XXXX. Sincerely, Olivia McCarthy, Principal
Geez... he's NINE! Give him a chance to grow up, will ya?!
Unfortunately, the consequences are that the school looks bad if the child fails that portion of the test. That is the krux of the matter. The principal is in a panic about the school having low scores on the writing portion of this mandated test. The state and feds don't give exceptions for students who refuse to answer questions.
This excerpt from the suspension letter shows a striking lack of familiarity with basic mathematics: As he chose NOT to perform, he will get a zero on that section, which will be averaged with the scores of all of the other students in his class: in this case, 10 other children. Obviously, a 0, when averaged with only 10 other scores, can drastically impact the average. Thus, he has compromised the representation of what his peers know and are able to do. Their scores will be reported as a group, not as individuals. Additionally, this extends to the whole fourth grade, as our school score, the one that is reported to the state and the media, is an average of all fourth grade students. Thus, his choice impacts Tyler, his classmates, his grade mates, and his school. As we have worked so hard this year to improve our writing skills, this is a particularly egregious wound. Principal MCarthy is trying to make a case for the severity of Tyler's actions but instead shows in graduated steps how little his failure to answer the question actually affects anything. She states that his grade is averaged into those of his class so his zero is mitigated by the nine other students in his class. But wait, it's actually averaged into the entire fourth grade student body. That makes its actual impact exceptionally small. She also has a problem with the basic principles of grading. His failure to answer the question will get him a zero for that question but she represents this as if he will receive a zero for the entire test: "Obviously, a 0, when averaged with only 10 other scores, can drastically impact the average." It is also very clear that Principle MCarthy violated the rules on administering this test. You may not point out to students an incorrectly answered question, point out questions that have not been completed, or read and comment on student essays. ... RCW 28A.635.040 and WAC 180-87-060 both provide penalties for the unauthorized use or disclosure of test content and flagrant disregard of generally recognized professional standards in test preparation and administration. Unprofessional conduct must be reported to the Office of Professional Practices at OSPI. As the test is administered by legal fiat this gross abuse may also constitute breaking the law.
This is the reason why they tried to force the kid to answer the stupid essay question.
Whatever happened to marking an unanswered question as incorrect and then moving on?
Th kid is apparently not a lemming. That is a good thing.
But I commend your work with your kids. We do need worker bees after all.
Answer: "I then opened the paper and saw that the Republicans had kept the House and Senate.
Why do some people knee jerk into homeshooling is the answer for every incident at any school?
Andrea Yates homeschooled and killed her kids.
And I'll bet you a thousand dollars that there is at least one zip code in your area where the adults are such underachievers that you wouldn't want them to homeschool their kids.
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