By Kristin

The proposed state budget for Washington suspends some pretty crucial things. 

Everything that's being suspended in education directly affects the ability of public schools to teach disadvantaged kids.  So, here's my proposal to the people of Washington:  if we're going to suspend things like reducing class size and making sure 3-year olds living below the poverty line get quality preschool, then let's also suspend our expectations of equity in public education.  Let's suspend No Child Left Behind.  Let's suspend expectations that every child, even the one who spent his first 15 years in a refugee camp in Chad, needs to pass the WASL.  If we're going to suspend financial support for the programs that help the poorest among us gain equal footing in education, we are fools to think public education is democracy's shining jewel.  Without these programs the poor will sink, because the golden ticket in our society, the thing that helps kids break generational poverty, is a quality education.  The children of some of our neighbors need more help in this area than others.

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By Representative Marko Liias 

We can all remember classic sitcoms about American
families.  In every one, there is at
least one episode about a bully.  I can
still remember the Brady Bunch episode where poor little Cindy is teased by the
mean bully, Buddy Hinton.  Like all
sitcoms, there is conflict, but everything works out and always a happy ending.

In the 21^st Century, we understand that school
bullying and harassment is much different than these classic images.  Fights are no longer about lunch money, they
are about the very basic characteristics of our students, and today’s bullies
use the powerful tools of technology to harass and intimidate their victims 24
hours a day.

And the impacts of this behavior are devastating.  Victims of school bullying and harassment
struggle to perform in the classroom, and fall behind their classmates.  Many face emotional and psychological stress
that turn into on-going mental health challenges.  In the most extreme cases, these victims try
to take their own lives, and a few succeed.

Simply put, we’re not doing enough to prevent bullying and
harassment in our schools.

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by Brian

I finally found the definitive word on how we are moving from the WASL to the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) on the OSPI website:

*Mathematics: In spring 2010, high school
students will take the math High School Proficiency Exam, which is
based on the 2006 Standards. Beginning in spring 2011, students will
take end-of-course assessments, based on the 2008 Standards, in Algebra
I/Integrated I and Geometry/Integrated II. Students who already
completed one or more of those classes will take a comprehensive exam
in April 2011. Students in the class of 2013 and beyond must pass both
end-of-course assessments or the comprehensive exam to meet the math
graduation requirement. Students in middle school who take Algebra
I/Integrated I or Geometry/Integrated II will take the grade-level
state assessment (for NCLB purposes) and the appropriate end-of-course
assessment.

I'm starting to get this sorted out.  The last WASL was given in August 2009, and is replaced by the High School Proficiency Exams in Reading, Writing, Math, and Science in the spring of 2010. (This year's sophomores are still exempt from needing to pass the Math and Science HSPE's). 

Except in math, which will transition into End of Course Exams in the spring of 2011.  And except for the freshmen who are taking Algebra 1 this year, who will be taking Geometry next year.  They will take a comprehensive exam on Algebra 1 and Geometry in April 2011.  That's 10 months after they finished Algebra, and 2 months before they will finish Geometry.  Not exactly End of Course timing. 

And the advanced students who are taking Algebra or Geometry in Middle School will be rewarded by having to take 2 tests: the Measurement of Student Progress for their grade level, and the End of Course Exam for their math class.

Did you get that?  Doesn't it seem just a little confusing, and maybe unfair?  Yet that is the law for this year's freshmen.  If they don't pass 5 high stakes exams, 3 of which have never even been field tested, they won't graduate.  But it could be worse: Texas has 12!

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 Stories from School has been featured on the most recent EduCarnival of Blogs hosted by our friend Clix at this site. What is EduCarnival? On the site, Clix explains: 

"EduCarnival v2 is continuing from the Carnival of Education: interesting and informative posts from around the EduSphere — and a few from the Larger 'Sphere.' Typically, articles [are] focused on K-12 public schooling, but private, homeschool, school/life, college or other related topics are welcome as well." 

There are a number of intriguing, inspiring, and informative posts shared on the EduCarnival…take a look!

Also, Stories from School has been listed as one of the top education policy blogs at the GuidetoOnlineSchools list of the best education blogs. Keith, the Project Manager writes that 

"the terrific commentary on the real world effects of education policy presented on your blog made it one of our favorites."

Thanks, readers, for coming back often and reading our thoughts and sharing yours as well here at Stories from School.

By Tom

I was sitting at home the other day, perusing the Spokesman-Review, and I came across an interesting editorial, criticizing Randy Dorn's recent proposal to make the state math test more reasonable. You can read it yourself, but here's the money quote:

"The state will only institute math and science requirements after it’s been demonstrated that a higher percentage can pass. This is like watching high jump practice and then deciding where to place the bar so that most competitors will clear it. When the consistent message is that the state will call off accountability, then it’s impossible to gauge students’ best efforts."

When I read this, I thought to myself, "Isn't that exactly how a high jump competition is supposed to run?" I mean, like most Americans, I only catch snippets of high jumping every four years, so I'm no expert, but that seems like the way I remember it. So I looked it up, and found that:

"In a competition, the bar is initially set at a relatively low height, and is moved upward in set increments … The competitor who clears the highest jump is declared the winner."

That sounds right. You set the bar low and then raise it until only one jumper is left. But unlike a high jump event, our goal in education is not to designate a single winner. Despite the fact that you hear it all the time, high jump competitions are a really bad metaphor for educational standards and assessments. So I decided to find a better one.

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 By Tracey
 

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 By Mark

I'm sitting here waiting for the turkey to reach 165F so I can load it into the car and rush it across town to the three-dozen waiting family members at our multi-bird feast this evening.

In these few moments, as hokey and cliche as it may seem, it is worth taking a few moments to reflect on what I appreciate about this business I'm in.

First, I am thankful to live in a state where with each new policy decision, teachers' voices are louder and more respected by policymakers. This is due completely to the diligent efforts of the teacher-leaders at CSTP (The nonprofit Center for Strengthening the Teaching Profession, sponsor of this site) and Washington's OSPI (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) who proactively seek ways for teacher voices to be heard at the decision-making table–with CSTP being the force which helps remind OSPI of the need for teacher voices.

Second and even more important, I am thankful for those fellow teachers who have made their voices heard at those policy tables and in front of the legislature. 

Last, I am thankful for the thanks I get as an educator. Just last week, as the culmination of a tough unit on poetry with my Sophomores, students memorized and recited poems aloud as part of my poetry curriculum, with the assessment being the non-verbal channels of communication–tone of voice, power of expression, and stage presence. I sat in awe as sixty fifteen- and sixteen-year olds tackled voices from Keats to Komunyakaa and Sexton to Sanchez. They worked so hard, and they truly embodied the words in a way which gave me chills and proved to me that they really got it. I am thankful that I am in a job that can warm my heart and give me chills.

Enjoy the season, SFS readers, and thanks for checking in now and again.

By Tom

It looks like Arne Duncan decided to soften his approach to turning around "failing schools." Up until just recently, states that wanted to compete for Race to the Top funds had to take an aggressive approach to fixing their lowest performing schools. They had to either replace the principal and half the teachers, reopen the school as a charter school or simply close the school down.

But with the release of the new guidelines states are permitted to use a "softer approach" and still remain eligible to compete for the RTTT grants.

What's the softer approach? Providing professional development to the faculty and changes to the curriculum. Wow. Imagine that.

And who can we thank for this enlightened approach? Ironically, the charter schools themselves. Much to Duncan's surprise, they showed little interest in taking over these failing schools. Apparently they would much prefer to start from scratch than to take over a school in peril.

This is good news for Washington. It will make it easier for our state, which outlaws charter schools and doesn't have a particularly aggressive model for taking over failing schools, to compete for the funds.

And we really need the money. 

by Brian
 

David Horsey of the Seattle PI has weighed in with the best opinion piece about Superintendent Randy Dorn's proposal to modify the math graduation requirement that I have read so far.

We are having parent conferences at my school this week, and yesterday I heard the parents of one of my better Algebra students tell me how frustrated they have been with the WASL. Their daughter is a bright, highly motivated freshman who seems to like my class and be comfortable with the curriculum. But her parents told me she did not meet standard in math on the WASL in 4th grade or 8th grade, and she has a lot of anxiety about taking the state test (whatever it will be) next year. It makes me angry to read the Seattle Times editorial board opposing Dorn's proposal: "It sends a disheartening message to students who want to excel and who understand that the route to higher education — whether college or trade school — is by meeting high standards." What do they think the message has been for the last ten years for the 50% of our students who have not met the math standard? Inspiring?? What makes them think that the WASL has been a reasonable measure of what a high school graduate should know? Not a college-bound student, just a high school graduate ready to go to work. It's time to answer that basic question.

I made an appointment with my Representative today to talk to him about where the bar should be set for graduation. I sent him Horsey's article too. I encourage you to read it, and talk to your Representative too. Our students deserve a realistic standard.