Seattle Education Association

Motion re: WASL
Passed by Representative Assembly
December 2003
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Whereas, the following warning appears in the Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction's own technical reports on the WASL: "While school and district scores may be useful in curriculum and instructional planning, it is important to exercise extreme caution when interpreting individual reports. The items included on WASL test are samples from a larger domain. Scores from one test given on a single occasion should never be used to make important decisions about students placement.], the type of instruction they receive, or retention in a given grade level in school. It is important to corroborate individual scores on WASL tests with classroom based and other local evidence of students learning (eg. Scores from district testing programs). When making decisions about individuals, multiple sources of information should be used and multiple individuals, multiple sources of information should be used and multiple individuals who are familiar with the students progress and achievement (including parents, teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, specialist teachers, and possibly even the students themselves) should be brought together to make such decisions collaboratively."

Therefore, be it resolved that we, the Seattle Education Association Board of Directors, maintains a strong commitment to high academic standards and closing the achievement gap using just and ethical educational practices and condemn the planned use of the WASL as a barrier to graduation and call on legislators, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Washington State Board of Education and the Seattle School District to adhere to ethical testing policies as stated in this warning.

The Seattle Education Association Board maintains a strong commitment to high academic standards and closing the achievement gap using just and ethical educational practices

Motion re: WASL
Passed by Representative Assembly
January 28, 2002
_________________________________________________________________

The Seattle Education Association believes that students learn in different ways and demonstrate mastery in several ways. To that end no one assessment should be used for showing mastery of standards, for promotion or retention in grade, for awarding a Certificate of Mastery or its equivalent, or for awarding a diploma for any individual student.

The Seattle Education Association also believes that tests and test scores should be used to develop curricula, and programs at the building level, and should be used to help teachers in planning instruction for their students. In using these data and tests, the goal should be the improvement of instruction. Therefore, the Association holds that scored tests and useful data from the tests should be available to both teachers and parents. This should include scoring criteria, rubrics, anchor papers, and any other data that would help evaluate a student's strengths and weaknesses, and help guide teachers in designing their programs.

The Seattle Education Association further believes that the professionals working directly with students are the ones best informed about the educational needs of their students. The Association therefore calls for teachers to be empowered to determine which assessments are to be used to show mastery of standards by their students. This could include but not be limited to: standardized tests (both norm referenced, and criterion referenced tests); district-wide tests (direct writing assessments, and direct reading assessments); classroom assessments (normed, and/or curriculum based tests); portfolios; and special projects. The Association calls for tests to be returned in a timely manner so they may be used for diagnostic purposes.

And finally, the Seattle Education Association believes that students learn at different rates, and that students must have multiple opportunities to show mastery of standards. Programs and buildings that are highly impacted by high mobility rates, poverty, English as a second language, and special education programs must not be publicly compared with those that are not. Any programs or buildings that are successful in helping students make significant gains must be recognized for these successes, whether or not their students meet standards for their age group. The Association is opposed to using the zero score for students who fail to finish the test or who opt to not take the test because this distorts all aggregate scores in a district. The Association is opposed to using these scores in the public arena, and press because of the unfair judgments made about buildings and programs by the public at large when they are given incomplete information.

Adopted by the SEA Building Representatives on February 25.

SEA will lobby the legislature for a review of the WASL in the following areas:
* A review of how the cut scores are determined;
* That WASL scores be reported to parents and teachers with standard deviations, and that cut scores be adjusted to allow for the standard deviations;
* That the WASL be reviewed and corrected to reduce cultural bias;
* That the WASL be amended to reduce instructional time lost to test administration;
* That teachers be given useful data about their students' performance in the WASL. The number of students not making standard on a certain item is not useful. Teachers need to know why their students did not meet standard;
* That actual scored WASL tests of individual students be made available to their teachers for teacher and parent scrutiny;
* That teacher input be used to improve the scoring process; and
* That the WASL be used only for a "systems check" and not for high stakes for students.
* District-wide WASL test scores not be published because they do not reflect the actual progress students make. The publication of such scores unfairly compares schools against, and perpetuates inaccurate myths about certain schools. We are opposed because in reporting any test data to the media, parent and community groups, the District must report and explain additional information including the results of any other standardized test administered to students at the same grade/subject level, their average GPA if appropriate, the number of students on free and reduced lunches, the number of special education students taking the test, the number of ESL students taking the test, the number of students absent during testing and any other demographic data which would provide complete and accurate information regarding student achievement.

Whereas, the unreliability of scoring alone is sufficient grounds to discount all results of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (W ASL) [According to a Seattle Times investigative report (8/27/00), only one low-paid, temporary scorer skims each assessment, spending approximately 2 l/2 minutes per writing essay and 20 seconds per math essay. But, according to research, 5 scorers are needed to obtain a .84-.92 reliability rating.], and

Whereas, the decades-long attempt to produce fair and accurate performance tests in the field of medicine has ended in failure, and

Whereas, many educators are concerned about the demand for formal logic in the 4th grade WASL (more appropriate for middle school age) and believe this assessment is hostile to children because of this and the ambiguities in the questions, and

Whereas, some educators have reason to believe the guidelines and answers the scorers are using, may be inaccurate, and

Whereas, districts appear to be encouraging "teaching to the test" [The practice of teaching to a very narrow assessment, instead of subject, corrupts education. The time to administer the assessment robs students and teachers of valuable instruction time. Moreover, in some cases, the entire year leading up to the WASL is spent on preparation, to the exclusion of other valuable learning.], and

Whereas, monetary costs of scoring this assessment are exorbitant -especially when nothing of real worth is gained [Compare $27 for W ASL with $3 to score a standardized achievement test.], and

Whereas, the assessment changes every year which invalidates comparisons, yet scores are compared as if they are equivalent, and
Whereas, the WASL cannot be used as a tool to improve instruction or learning, its major function, because no one, including the classroom teacher, is allowed to see or use the corrected assessment [This violates the Performance-based Education Act of 1993 (ESHB 1209) which states, "The assessment shall be designed so that the results under the assessment system are used by educators as tools to evaluate instructional practices, and to initiate appropriate educational support for students who have not learned the essential academic learning requirements at the appropriate periods in the students' educational development."], and

Whereas, the WASL will be high stakes for students (through the Certificate of Mastery for Graduation), for teachers (through promotion and accountability measures), and for schools and districts (through the A+ Commission recommendations that force compliance), even though it is neither valid nor reliable and inhibits true learning,

Therefore, be it resolved that we, the membership of the Seattle Education Association, call upon the Washington State Legislature to suspend the use of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning until these concerns are rectified. We believe intentions were good in the creation of an assessment to help educators help students. SEA takes a position against the use of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning as the high stakes tool of choice to assess the progress of individual students. Appropriate and effective student assessment must have multiple measures, including classroom evidence, locally chosen assessments and standardized tests aligned with the curriculum.

The SEA will:

1. Send a letter written by the SEA President to local newspaper editors outlining our position.
2. Lobby our legislators about our position and urge them to discontinue the use of the WASL.
3. Seek the partnership of the District and the WEA in our lobbying efforts.
4. Have Seattle School teachers testify before the House Education Committee regarding our opinion and our first hand knowledge of the WASLs inherent weaknesses.
5. Work with the District to insure that a variety of locally chosen instruments be used to measure student achievement.