THE FOLLOWING WAS PRINTED AS AN OP-ED ESSAY IN THE TRI-CITY HERALD ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2006.
MYTH 1: Since introduction of the WASL and similar high-stakes tests in other states in the mid-1990s pressure of the tests has led to significant improvement in student achievement.
What do investigators report? Read more…
Here are some things that bother me about the WASL and Washington Standards:
1. I have attempted without success to discover an accepted framework of learning that supports Washington’s model of curriculum and assessment. OSPI references something called the “Carkhuff Conceptual Framework,” but I have been unable to find anything about it in the educational literature. Can someone send me to a reputable source of information on this framework? Or is there one? Read more…
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia where truth is determined democratically. If enough users agree that something is true, it becomes fact. Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central’s Colbert Report has coined the term Wiki-ality to describe the reality defined by such a process. This article will attempt to show that the WASL is based on Wiki-ality and does not stand up to investigation. To do this we will rely on the methods of another cable TV show, MYTHBUSTERS, wherein hosts Jamie and Adam use actual research to show what’s real and what’s fiction.
Is There Any Longitudinal Effect of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) on Student Achievement? That’s the question asked in a recent study by Dr. Donald Orlich of the Science Mathematics Engineering Education Center at Washington State University.
Dr. Orlich states:
An accountability conundrum has emerged due to the passage of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001″ in January 2002. States are now forced by federal law to show student adequate yearly progress targets, which will be met through high-stakes testing.
But the study conducted by Dr. Orlich calls to question the effectiveness and cost of the WASL in increasing the achievement of students in Washington. Read an on-line version of the study here