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Here in Washington state the public has spoken and we are in the process of dismantling the WASL, which was an expensively-developed series of comprehensive achievement tests designed to assess if students in the public schools are really learning anything or are just going throu …
WASL changes workThe Seattle School District says the class of 2008 has proven the School Board's change in four new statewide graduation requirements works when the class met and exceeded the state reading and writing portions of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, better known as the …
Local students show steady improvement on WASLYakima students have scored better than previous years on the reading and writing portions of the high school WASL. The results also show a lessening of the gap with other students in the state.
Will the real WASL critics please stand up? Over the weekend in Spokane, state Democrats took a stand on an issue they must think will be potent this year. In the party platform section on education, they supported "abandoning the WASL test as a mandatory high school graduation requirement."
Most high schoolers handle WASLThe majority of the state's high school students are on track to meet WASL graduation requirements by passing the reading and writing portions of the test, the state's top education official announced Monday.
Grads: WASL daunted some, motivated others Rickey Combs still doesn't think students should have to pass reading and writing on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in order to graduate.
WASL Leaves Some Seniors Without DiplomasLast week education leaders were celebrating this fact - over 90 percent of the class of 2008 passed key sections of the WASL. But that celebration ignored the large number of students who failed the math section.
Too early to celebrate high school WASL scores The results of the most anxiety-producing high school test in Washington's history are in, and the numbers look better than many expected.
WASL trips up some seniorsThirteen of about 900 seniors in Longview and Kelso won't graduate June 14 because they haven't passed the reading or writing section of the WASL to graduate, district officials learned last week.
State tells high schools who failed WASL High schools were told Tuesday which seniors have failed in their third-to-last attempt to pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning or submit an approved alternative.
Why I took a stand against WASL and why the state should abandon it On April 15, I was suspended without pay from my sixth-grade classroom because I refused to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning to my students. My act was based on 28 clear arguments, most of which were left out of The Times article of April 22.
Is the WASL steering kids from vo-tech classes?For 17 years, Jerry Helm has taught two three-hour carpentry classes at Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center in south Everett. The routine has been as second nature to him as pounding nails. Next fall could be different.
Teacher gives bad lesson with WASL standNothing is more inspiring than a teacher with passion and principles. Nothing is more disappointing than when passion causes a principle to go off track.
No Child Left Behind, WASL punish teachers, needy studentsNo Child Left Behind is based on the mandatory testing President Bush implemented when he was governor of Texas. When Bush touted his educational successes, he forgot to mention the 135,000 dropouts Texas loses every year, directly related to state testing requirements.
Teacher refuses to give the WASL, gets 2 weeks without pay A Seattle middle school science teacher has been suspended for two weeks without pay for refusing to administer the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in his classroom.
Getting testy over WASL leaves students still at risk The Eckstein Middle School teacher who characterized his refusal to administer the WASL as an act of civil disobedience deserves to have his bloviated defense cast right up there with Hillary Rodham Clinton evading sniper fire in Bosnia.
Students picket middle schoolThe Washington Assessment of Student Learning is giving students at Wy'east Middle School in Cascade Park a lesson in nonviolent protest.
Teacher shuns WASL, earns suspension -- and praiseA Seattle teacher's refusal to give the WASL has earned him a nine-day, unpaid suspension from his job -- and the admiration of WASL opponents around the state.
Local News | Seattle teacher penalized for refusing to give WASL | Seattle Times NewspaperSeattle middle school teacher Carl Chew has been suspended for two weeks without pay for refusing to administer the WASL.
Teacher Refuses To Give WASL, Gets 2 Weeks Without Pay - Most Popular Stories News Story - KIRO SeattleMiddle school science teacher Carl Chew has been suspended without pay for two weeks for refusing to administer the WASL.
Tri-City students hit books for math WASL Juan Espinoza neatly wrote the equation on the chalkboard at the front of class and solved for X. It didn't take him long. "X equals 10," he said.
It's time for lame-duck math WASL, which kids don't have to passThis is the week North Central High School senior Adam Kuntz learns that resistance is futile, at least where the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is concerned.
The WASL Club Students at Jefferson Elementary School in Mount Vernon take their preparations for the big achievement test seriouslyIf the students in Jefferson Elementary's WASL Club learned by osmosis, they'd be well prepared. Motivational posters hang on each wall: "Never settle for less than your best!" Math vocabulary and test-taking tips cover the rest of the space.
Math WASL will go away The math portion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning will be replaced by tests on individual math courses under a plan approved this week by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Some call the WASL 'cruel and unusual punishment' for special needs studentsEvery year, thousands of special education students across the state take the state's 10th grade assessment test, but they are doomed to failure before they ever begin.
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