A public hearing will be held this Monday, Jan. 21 in the Senate education committee on SB6540 to delay the reading and writing graduation requirement until 2013. Holding the hearing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day may suggest the bill is being positioned as a civil rights measure.

Wouldn't a better message from the state be, "We're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that all students, including minority seniors yet to meet the reading and writing standard, do so by the time of graduation?" (For example, figures for Class of 2008 African American students related to the WASL statewide are: 259 need to meet the reading standard; 152 still need writing; 467 need both reading and writing. But of the 467, approximately two-thirds have not taken the test at all.)

As a result of the graduation requirement in reading, 6 in 10 African American 10th graders in the state passed the reading test on their first attempt this year whereas fewer than 3 in 10 did so just eight years ago.

Many in the Class of 2008 still needing to meet standard are submitting portfolios of their work as a state-approved alternative and will retake the test this spring. Having a reading goal has driven better attention, resources and results. It is staggering to think that legislators are considering lowering standards so that students can be passed on and receive a diploma without knowing how to read.

We urge you to send an email to members of the Senate Education Committee to express that reading truly is fundamental and should remain a requirement for the high school diploma. Their addresses are:

Committee Chair:
mcauliffe.rosemary@leg.wa.gov

Committee Members:
tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov
king.curtis@leg.wa.gov
brandland.dale@leg.wa.gov
eide.tracey@leg.wa.gov
hewitt.mike@leg.wa.gov
hobbs.steve@leg.wa.gov
holmquist.janea@leg.wa.gov
kauffman.claudia@leg.wa.gov
mcdermott.joe@leg.wa.gov
oemig.eric@leg.wa.gov
rasmussen.marilyn@leg.wa.gov
weinstein.brian@leg.wa.gov
zarelli.joseph@leg.wa.gov

 

 

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ARTICLES

Urban Schools Aiming Higher Than Diploma Posted on 17 Jan

BOSTON - At Excel High School, in South Boston, teachers do not just prepare students academically for the SAT; they take them on practice walks to the building where the SAT will be given so they won't get lost on the day of the test.

In Chattanooga, Tenn., the schools have abolished their multitrack curriculum, which pointed only a fraction of students toward college. Every student is now on a college track.

And in the Washington suburb of Prince George's County, Md., the school district is arranging college tours for students as early as seventh grade, and adding eight core Advanced Placement classes to every high school, including some schools that had none.

Those efforts, and others across the country, reflect a growing sense of urgency among educators that the primary goal of many large high schools serving low-income and urban populations - to move students toward graduation - is no longer enough. Read more...