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The current class of graduating high school seniors is the first to face the added requirement of passing the state's standardized achievement test in order to graduate. As in other states, the Washington Assesment of Student Learning, commonly called the WASL (pronounced WA-sul), has been highly controversial. The math section was so flawed that the governor and state legislature eliminated it from the graduation requirement. If students fail the reading and writing portions of the 10th grade test, they may retake the test during 11th and 12th grades. Notices went out this week to 5572 students who will not be graduating with their 2008 class in two weeks, even if they have successfully completed their courses and met all other graduation requirements. These are real individuals' lives. The full repercussion this will have on them and their families remains to be seen. My modest proposal for many years has been that the president of the United States and every member of congress who voted in favor of his "No Child Left Behind" legislation six years ago take and pass all portions of the WASL in order to keep his/her job. I don't think it is necessarily the children who are slow. JMHO, your mileage may vary.
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