9134 in the collection
Mothers Against WASL Scores a Big Victory
Ohanian Comment: Why are Standardistos so reluctant to let parents see their children's tests? That's a rhetorical question.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATE POLICY DENIES PARENTAL RIGHTS. MOTHERS AGAINST WASL MEMBER CITES FEDERAL LAW AND WILL BE ALLOWED TO VIEW WASL TEST.
Contacts: De Anna Winterrose, Tri-Cities Contact for Mothers Against WASL 509-628-8802
Juanita Doyon, Director, Parent Empowerment Network/Mothers Against WASL
Spanaway, 253/973-1593
Shelley Anderson, Executive Board Member, Spokane, 509/326-9295
Patricia Bailey, Executive Board Member, Seattle, 206/242-5156
Rachel DeBellis, Executive Board Member, Marysville, 360/708-9323
Lisa Sampson, Executive Board Member, Vancouver, 369/885-1821
Citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the below memorandum, Richland parent and member of Mothers Against WASL, De Anna Winterrose, has gained permission to view her children’s completed Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests. Previously, the State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction had denied parents the right to view the state administered test. (See policy below.) However, as Ms. Winterrose pointed out to school officials in Richland, federal law supersedes state policy. She will be allowed to view her children’s completed WASL tests on Wednesday, May 11th.
Ms. Winterrose reports that the school district attorney “…spent the day on the phone with OSPI and the [federal] Department of Education - trying to get some resolution to my request to see my children's educational documents. ...I will have to sign a non-disclosure form (promising not to tell what the questions were), will not be allowed to make copies, and he will sit in the room with me - but I am very happy about this.”
“This is a victory for parents and students throughout the state and will have national impact as well,” said Juanita Doyon, organizer of Mothers Against WASL and director of the new nonprofit, Parent Empowerment Network. “We have been fighting against test secrecy for over four years. There should be absolutely no secrecy to these tests. All state level assessment content should be made accessible to every parent once the tests are administered. Test security does not supplant parental rights.”
Many testing experts have judged the WASL to be an inappropriate assessment. Mothers Against WASL believes that parent access is key to forcing a change in the test itself. A recent report by Dr. Donald Orlich concludes that the 5th grade science and 7th grade math WASLs exceed the intellectual capabilities of the students they are intended to test. Previous studies have shown that other segments of the test are also flawed in their level of difficulty.
According to FERPA, parents have the right to view their children’s completed WASL tests before and after scoring. This right has been denied by the state.
FERPA Memorandum (partial):
LeRoy S. Rooker, Director, Family Policy Compliance Office
Date: October 2, 1997
Subject: Access to test protocols and test answer sheets
”…Where test "protocols" are meant to refer to test instruments or question booklets that do not identify a student or that do not contain personally identifiable information, such documents are not considered "education records" under FERPA. See 34 CFR §99.3. "Personally identifiable information."
In contrast, completed test instruments or question booklets containing information that identify a particular student, whether or not the actual name of the student appears on the booklet, constitute "education records" subject to the FERPA requirements. Therefore, in cases where an answer sheet is directly related to the student and is separate from the question booklet not directly related to a student, only the answer sheet would be considered an education record under FERPA. In cases where a question booklet that includes both the questions and the student's responses, the question booklet is an education record subject to FERPA.
Although under FERPA an educational agency or institution is not required to provide a parent with an opportunity to inspect and review information that is not personally identifiable to his or her child, such as test instruments and question booklets that are not directly related to the student, §99.10(c) of the FERPA regulations provides that an educational institution or agency is required "to respond to reasonable requests for explanations and interpretations of the records." Accordingly, an educational agency or institution would be required to respond to a reasonable request for an explanation or interpretation of a student's answer sheet. This could include reviewing the question booklet with the parent.
Because answer sheets are usually directly related to a student, they generally fall within the definition of education records to which a parent has the right to inspect and review. In response to your questions, therefore, the parent has the right to have access to her child's answer sheet and an explanation or interpretation of that answer sheet which, in some cases, could require access to the question booklet. However, because FERPA requires a parent be given access and not copies, except in specific instances, the school district is not required to provide the parent a copy of the answer sheet or the question booklet…”
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/pubdocs/ViewingWASLTests.doc
“Viewing WASL Tests— State laws RCW 42.17.310 and 28A.635.040 limit access to tests and supportive materials and are designed to protect the integrity of the test. It is unlawful for “any person having access to any question or questions prepared for the examination of common school pupils to directly or indirectly disclose the same before the time appointed for the use of the questions in the examination of pupils.” Further, it is unlawful to “directly or indirectly assist any person to answer any question.” Operational or pilot WASL test booklets must not be reviewed by staff or parents. Report any misuse of testing materials to Dr. Paul Dugger at 360.725.6348 or TTY 360.664.3631.
The release of test items over the past four years provides parents and school personnel with a good understanding of the format and content of the WASL. Released items from the past four WASL administrations can be found on the OSPI Web site at
www.k12.wa.us/assessment/WASL/testquestions.aspx
These released items can be freely shared with teachers, students, and parents.”
— Press Release
Parent Empowerment Network/Mothers Against WASL
2005-05-05
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 366
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