\doc\web\98\04\assepet.txt


Washington State Assessments Petition


The State Assessments Watchdog Committee, created by members of the
Finch Elementary School Site Council, has drafted the following
petition to express our concern for a component of state education
reform called State Assessments.  It is our intention to raise
awareness and delay enforcement of an untested program that will
affect all students who attend public schools in the state of
Washington.  This petition will be sent to all members of the
legislature, including the Governor, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, and our School Board of Directors and reads as follows:


As concerned voters and taxpayers of the state of Washington we are
alarmed with the current direction public education is approaching.
We seek to halt the implementation of State Assessment Exams until we
receive specific and satisfactory answers to the important questions
that have repeatedly gone unanswered.  They are as follows:


I .    What will happen to students who fail the State Assessment Exams?
2.    What legal recourse is in place for a student who made it through
Grade 12 with passing grades but failed the Certificate of Mastery Exam
in Grade I 0, thus nullifying a diploma?
3.    Who will be held accountable for students who fail the State
Assessment Exams?
4.   What will be the consequences for schools whose students
consistently fail the State Assessment Exams?
5.   What program is in place to standardize the teachers who will be
administering the State Assessment Exams?
6.   Are students being tested by the state before teachers are
standardized in the program?
7.   How are current at-risk students being identified and helped to
succeed in the State Assessments?
8.   What effect do the State Assessments have on out-of-state transfer
students entering our schools?
9.   Will there be exemptions for students with special needs?
10.  Will there be equitable distribution of funds among all public
schools to ensure
student success on the State Assessment Exams?


We expect and require a timely response to these concerns, which are
supported by the following members of our community.  




Signed:	State Assessments Watchdog Committee, Finch Elementary
School Site Council, 	3717  N.  Milton,  Spokane, WA  99205


David Bray (509) 328-7007,         Jim VanGundy,          Ann Cleary,
Bill Waddell       Colleen Lippert (509) 326-8035


Please show your support by adding your name below.  Thank you!




           PETITIONERS 
SIGNATURES									


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