Yesterday the Superintendent of Public Instruction announced that 90 percent of this year's high school seniors passed the state's reading and writing standards. That clearly good news, properly celebrated by Terry Bergeson, parents and teachers. Here's Bergeson from the OSPI press release.
"This is a moment we’ve been waiting to celebrate for more than a decade," she said. "Washington’s educators have spent so much time making sure every student is well prepared for college, careers and citizenship, and these results show that hard work has paid off.
And she underscores the key point.
"For the first time ever, we know that the students leaving our high schools have the reading and writing skills they need to succeed in their lives, no matter what paths they choose."
Nothing up yet on the WEA website, but the Seattle PI suggests union critics of the WASL aren't happy.
"There are a huge number of kids who are missing," said Shannon Rasmussen, president of the Federal Way Education Association and the head of a task force that studies education reform. "The presentation today hasn't eased our concerns."
Her gripe is with the exclusion of students who dropped out or were reclassified in other grades. Well, the test is designed to assure that those who graduate have the appropriate skill set. Students who've dropped out (I guess that makes them former students) or are still in school because they've fallen behind would seem to be appropriately excluded.
The Spokesman-Review quotes Bergeson-challenger Randy Dorn, who makes a different point.
"When you have one out of 10 kids not passing, I don't see that as something to celebrate," said Randy Dorn, a former principal and state legislator and current director of the Public School Employees of Washington, who is running against Bergeson.
Sure, you'd like to see everyone met the standards. I'm guessing that unless there are consequences for failure, the motivation to succeed just won't be there for everyone. The students who didn't pass have options (scroll down).
Other stories in the Seattle Times, along with a good editorial, and The News Tribune carries the AP story.
Update Bruce Ramsey provides the graduation rate details in his Seattle Times blog.
