WASL IS HIGHER STANDARD THAN 2 YR COLLEGE TEST
z56\doc\web\2002\05\waslberg.txt
Bergeson and A-Minus Commission on TVW 5/2002


- The study comparing WASL to community college placement exams is
over. The guy explained that unlike WASL, they DON'T CARE what
performance level you are to get in the dooor. The tests do
distinguish whether you take "college level" courses or not, with
"intermediate algebra" being I think being relegated to non-college
level. 


The guy from the colleges said that "well, the WASL is what they'd
like their college students to be doing, it's way beyond the stuff
they do in the placment tests, which is computation, not problem
solving or communication". Bergeson translates this into "community
college people who looked at it love the WASL test". 


But what it really means is that A) WASL is MORE difficult than what
they expect college bound students to be able to do and B) as far as
admissions or placement goes, WASL skills don't matter since they've
never tested for or asked for these skills. Like I've observed before,
the WASL is consistently MORE difficult than IQ or college level SAT
test for a given grade level of skills.


- Another VERY valuable comment "Only 75% of Ready Start students pass
the WASL" in response to the idea that WASL should be required.  Let's
see. OSPI says it's realistic for 80% of ALL students to pass WASL by
2006, but only 75% of high school students who are so advanced they
can do COLLEGE LEVEL WORK pass WASL???


- Bergeson says the initiative is silly and wonders why they just don't
write it so that it bans the use for WASL as a graduation requirement.
She says "stay the course". She says the only reason we can't do her
call for "we shouldn't be able to distinguish one group from another
by test scores" is because of racism and low expectations.


- She says ESEA does not allow normm referenced tests, I'm not sure
she knows what she's talking about, I think most norm-referenced tests
do come with proficiency scales if you want them. (which are, by
definition, bogus, as Bracey or Orlich can tell us)


- GOP should love this one. She insists that we can't cut even one
dime from education, we must raise taxes, probably sales taxes so that
everybody shares, we can't hit business (her biggest supporter of
course).


I still have the 8mm tape if somebody wants it before I recycle and
record over it, or can make a VHS.