Longview, Kelso lag behind state average on WASL
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 11:42 PM PDT
By Carrie Pederson
Printable version
E-mail this articleKelso and Longview students’ performance on the state’s WASL exam remained steady this year, but they continued to lag behind their peers statewide.
Longview’s passing rates fell between five and 15 percentage points behind the state’s average in every category of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning exam administered in the spring of 2008.
The state Office of the Superintendent Public Instruction released the scores Tuesday.
The exam tests K-10 students in reading and math and science. Only fourth, seventh and 10th graders took the writing portion of the exam, and only fifth, eighth and 10th graders took the science section.
Longview Superintendent Suzanne Cusick said Wednesday the district’s goal is to get Longview students more competitive with their Washington peers.
“That’s our challenge and something we don’t take lightly,” she said.
On average, Longview students finished 12 percentage points short of the state average in reading, the area where it was farthest below the state rate.
Students must pass the reading and writing portions of the exam to graduate. Just over 76 percent of Longview seniors have passed those tests, about 10 percentage points below the state average, according to school district officials.
Longview students also were 10 percentage points behind their peers statewide in math. Middle and high school students lagged almost 11 percentage points behind in math.
In Kelso, passing rates fell about 6 percentage points below the state average in math. Middle and high school students fell 10 percentage points behind.
Though Kelso continues to be challenged in math and science, Kelso Assessment Coordinator Scott Westlund said he believes the state’s newly adopted math standards will improve test scores.
Officials in both districts are optimistic about the new standards, which are clearer and more focused than the old ones. But they say results won’t change soon because students will be tested on the old WASL standards in 2009.
Reading and writing scores were better than math scores in Kelso. Scores hovered around the state average, with eighth-graders scoring 10 percentage points above the state average in reading.
Overall, Kelso maintained about the same WASL scores as last year. Ninety-five percent of the Kelso senior class of 2009 has passed the reading and writing sections of the WASL, as they must do to graduate.
“Our data overall is positive. Many of our schools and grade levels are achieving growth. Our results continue to match trends statewide, with many of our scores above or right at the state average,” Westlund said.
In Longview, students scored 11.5 percentage points behind the state average in reading overall. Middle and high school students scores almost 13 percentage points behind the state average.
In the writing tests, Longview fourth, seventh and 10th-graders scored almost 10 percentage points below the average state results.
Overall, scores dropped slightly in Longview this year.
Cusick said the district is adopting more focused standards in all subject areas, in addition to adopting the state’s more focused math standards.
The standards are a “safety net curriculum” for all students, she said.
“In addition to narrowing the focus we are going to continue to work with teachers so effective instruction is happening in every classroom,” she said.
Kelso Superintendent Glenys Hill said the WASL is not the best tool for closing learning gaps.
The Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) test, given at least two times a year through the 10th grade, is more helpful tool instructionally, she said.
Unlike the WASL, which just shows whether a student met the bar each year, MAP tests show teachers the “sub-skills” students are missing and how to instruct them, she said.
The test is given at the beginning and end of the year, giving teachers the opportunity to give instruction on what students don’t know, she said.
Cusick plans to improve Longview’s system of testing students throughout the year to evaluate how well students are learning.
“By the WASL it’s really too late,” to intervene, she said.
1209 wrote on Aug 28, 2008 3:49 AM:
" Why doesn't this surprise anyone? It will take a cultural shift to change this tradition of ignorance in Longview/Kelso. It all comes down to leadership. Parents usually make a lot of demands without doing any research of their own on what they expect their kids to learn. We all know of teachers too quick to blame the students. TDN has done their part in exposing the stories of teachers/administrators who cover for each other while they date and drink with students and brag about their porn collections. Hardly a culture of excellence. Until parents and voters take control, expect more of the same. "
transplant wrote on Aug 28, 2008 7:44 AM:
" With nearly 10% increases in administrator salaries that reach or exceed the $100,000 mark, I'd like to see Kelso administrators take the same stand that Castle Rock did- we'll get there in two years or we're out. No more tenure, perform or be gone. It's a reasonable salary, but only if the positive result is evident. There are bright, gifted people in some of these schools, Wallace is a great example (go look at what's happening down there). But there are still those who need to examine whether their motivations for teaching have become clouded. In this situation, as in many in business, I would hope that our young teachers are being included in setting a course for the future. Fresh eyes mean fresh ideas in my experience. I am one who expects you to meet this challenge and then set the bar higher yet. "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 28, 2008 7:57 AM:
" Kelso & Longview schools may lag in WASL, but they sure do not lag in School Administrators' salaries. "
DUH wrote on Aug 28, 2008 8:22 AM:
" I wonder what the teachers and administrators would score on the WASL. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 28, 2008 8:27 AM:
" Glad to see that 1209 agrees with me on voter taking control. Now that 1209 is onboard maybe we can run some of those Liberals out of Olympia who forced unfunded pay increases on the district. How does that tie to this? Simple. It's bad government to give blanket raises. Raises should be tied to performance, and for teachers and administrators the WASL scores should be a top criteria for a pay raise. Raise the scores or no raises simple. Governing like the Liberals do only leads to big salaries and no results. "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 28, 2008 8:49 AM:
" If anyone listened to Terry Bergeson's press conference (available on the home page of the OSPI website), you might be raising an eyebrow. She said things like, "We've hit a wall with WASL," "It's not the test, we've examined it," and "something is going on with the students." It's also an error that "K-10" students take WASL. It's given to grades 3-8, and 10. Further, don't be fooled by these so-called "new math standards." While several million dollars went into the effort, it still boils down to "what the heck have they been TEACHING my kids all along????" Inferior math? Substandard approaches? I'm not buying all this spin. It's nonsense. "
WorkingClass wrote on Aug 28, 2008 8:55 AM:
" Maybe it is time for an initiative that fixes school district pay raises to the cpi and awards bonuses based on graduation rates and test scores instead. It should also include an across the board pay cut for administrative employees before cutting academic programs in the face of budget shortfalls. I think they can take one less vacation or purchase one less luxury item when they are making twice the median income. For an eye opener go look at the parking lots at the local school administrative offices... then go look at the faculty lots... "
kalamagrad wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:39 AM:
" Why don't all of you who think you know how to improve education quit your jobs and become teachers? Since you don't, you don't know what you are talking about! I bust my butt every day to try to teach my students to work hard and care about school; but many of them don't and their parents don't care, either. I am sick and tired of reading posts by people who don't have the guts and courage to teach when they think they have all of the answers! "
Ella Mentry wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:40 AM:
" Bad Boy, that's just crazy talk. : ) Basing pay raises on WASL performance is just as insane as requiring it for a diploma. It's a flawed, biased test that has a margin of error of 10-15%. Not a great situation when many of the "failing" students only missed it by 1-2 points. Our kids hear the term "WASL" dozens of times each day, their entire educational lives are centered around it, we've hired special WASL people to manage it, spent billions creating, revising, printing, scoring, revising again, training, updating, streamlining, revising again...we need to get honest and say, "Hey, assessment is important, but THIS particular test is not beneficial...let's find something better." Basing pay on WASL scores would NOT be fair. Some schools have a huge demographic of kids living in poverty, kids who are English learners, and transient kids. When those schools score low, by your method, the staff would be punished. Teachers across town who have more affluent, English-proficient kids, won't need to work as hard, yet they would receive wonderful raises. "
Viewpoint wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:46 AM:
" Very few schools beat the odds of doing better (or worse) on the WASL than what would be predicted for the demographics of the school student population (socio-economic status, race, gender). Longviews free and reduced lunch rate has been holding steady at about 9 percent above the state average and Kelsos has been about 6 percent above the state average. If you really want to know more about school finance go to the OSPI website. The school report card pages will tell you how much the school districts spend on central administrators, building administrators, teaching, etc. Comparing districts may surprise you, but bear in mind small districts may spend a higher percentage of their budgets on administration. http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?year=2007-08 For beating the odds see Wash St Institute for Public Policy http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/pub.asp?docid=08-05-2201 "
1209 wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:52 AM:
" I re-emphasize a SHIFT FROM IGNORANCE. Education and intellectual discipline require INDEPENDANT THINKING. Keep the focus on this as a community issue that should not be politicized. Eliminate all distractions of partisan politics and racial preferences. If anything, this will take INDEPENDENT THINKING - not partisanship - to solve this problem. It's partisanship and racial bigotry that started this culture of ignorance. For those who haven't figured it out yet, the first rule of getting yourself out of a hole -STOP DIGGING. "
1209 wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:04 AM:
" I qualify myself for this topic because I am a volunteer SAT Math tutor for underprivileged high school students in Portland. Apart from my full time job as a Professional Mechanical Engineer, I've had great success in raising the SAT Math scores of my own students and getting them scholarships that they otherwise wouldn't have. My success is based upon correcting the errors my students' teachers and the lack of involvement of their own parents. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:06 AM:
" What is crazy Ella Mentry is giving Teachers and Administrators Unfunded Pay Increases without any criteria. That is completely absurd. The only businesses in America that are run this way are Government and Unions. The only way to get a better performance is to tie performance to pay increases. Most workers are the smartest bulps in the package but they do understand pay increases. Even the pot heads who come to work stoned understand performance-based pay increases. Anything less leads to failure. That is the problem the Liberals in charge of our state do not understand. What we need to do Ella Mentry is weed teachers and administrators out who think like you do. You are an excuse machine for failure. And as long as excuses are allowed failure should be expected. You need to raise your bar considerably higher. I'll quote an old Liberal: It's not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. You don't quite grasp that do you. Quit making excuses and come up with solutions. Basing pay on job performance is one great solution. "
IWCJ wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:12 AM:
" Kalamagrad: What about those of us who want to improve education by SUPPORTING teachers, by encouraging our children to excel, by voting, by standing up when we feel something isn't in the best interest of our kids, and by studying the issues, instead of remaining ignorant? "
Lance Johnson wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:16 AM:
" Part time work deserves part time pay. Working 188 days a year equates to part time employment. And I dont want to hear about taking work home with you and grading papers. People want to cry about oil companies when grand theft is being commited right here in our little community. The education system is possibly a bigger scam then unfounded claims of "global climate change". "
bigshoe wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:23 AM:
" I have quite a lot of contact with the schools in the area. The system seems to be more about the teachers than the students. A good example is the practice of having early dismissals, late starts, in "service" days etc. Teachers get days to go to classes to "keep up" on new methods. Which new methods are producing results? Not to mention the ridiculously ineffective Head Start and Progress Center programs. Schools need accountablity to the public and probably should be run by business people and not the mired in the current education mindset. My opinion is that NEA stands for "never educate anyone". "
bmoc wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:25 AM:
" regardless of any bias in the test, the kids across the state are taking the same test, and local kids are not performing as well. If the kids have to suffer the threat of not graduating on time, I hardly see how 10 and 5 percent salary increases are justified for the administrators. this stinks so bad it makes me sick. I know non-union employees who are having their benefits cut and all sorts or ridiculous stuff. that's not even diving into the whole special education cuts. Heads need to roll. "
IWCJ wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:30 AM:
" ***Kelso Superintendent Glenys Hill said the WASL is not the best tool for closing learning gaps.*** Now this type of honesty is refreshing. "
IWCJ wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:45 AM:
" ****Overall, Kelso maintained about the same WASL scores as last year**** Huh? Carrie, did you read the data? 3rd grade Reading was down 9 points, 4th grade Reading was down 3.4 points. 7th grade Reading was down 6.2 points. Every single grade, except 5th and 8th, took a nose dive in math. This is a far cry from "about the same." If you print out last year's results (from the State Report Card at the OSPI website) side by side with this year's results, highlight each number that is lower this year...it lights up the page. If you look only at Kelso High School, Math, Writing, and Science, all went down by 4% (with no gain in Reading). That's a huge percentage when schools are supposed to be making GAINS each year. Terry Bergeson said we've hit a wall...I think she meant, "We're going backward now." All for the bargain price of...(fill in the blank...not even OSPI can tell us the exact amount) "
IWCJ wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:57 AM:
" Bad Boy, Whoa, Deputy. I think you misunderstood Ella Mentry. She sounded like she was pro performance-based pay increases, but merely pointed out that WASL is not a good indicator of performance. Given that even the state admits WASL scores are directly influenced by demographics, I understand her point. You can have the world's best teachers in a poor school where the students move in an out at an alarming rate, yet they would be punished because WASL scores won't increase at the same rate (it at all?) as other schools. "
Kelso Resident wrote on Aug 28, 2008 11:12 AM:
" In Regard to transplant on Aug 28, 2008: You said that wallace is doing something, what is wallace doing? I'm not in contact with them anymore but I went there when I was younger. What are they doing?
I agree this isn't good, I totaly agree they should have 2 years to prove themselfs or they should get out. "
I agree this isn't good, I totaly agree they should have 2 years to prove themselfs or they should get out. "
Carrie Pederson wrote on Aug 28, 2008 11:55 AM:
" IWCJ, I did read the data and averaged Kelso's scores and got 57.4 percent this year and last year. Math scores were down this year but scores were up in writing in two grades. So were science scores in two grades. Reading scores were up in several grades as well. "
kelsograd wrote on Aug 28, 2008 12:06 PM:
" Interesting to read all the posts. I'm not up to date regarding the contents of the WASL tests, but the thought occured that the generation that produced the engineers that put a man on the moon learned something from schools they attended, why try to continuosly re-invent the wheel, when there was a good model of education already in place. And remember that new is not always better nor is education always equal to wisdom. "
Old Bag wrote on Aug 28, 2008 12:07 PM:
" Kalamagrad: If I became a teacher I'd only work 10 months a year and that wouldn't pay for the taxes to pay your raises. That said I'm glad you're one of the few that seem to care. "
wrote on Aug 28, 2008 1:00 PM:
" Most of these posts are just more buck passing. If you really don't like what's going on in Longview and Kelso's schools, GET INVOLVED. VOLUNTEER to personally reverse the damage done by the school system. As a Math tutor, I've proved how ALL of the damage to my students can be reversed by volunteering no more than 2 hours a week - as long as you know what you're doing. If you really don't know what you're talking about, then, by all means, continue this cycle of solving nothing by passing the buck with partisan politics on where we should throw money at this problem. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 28, 2008 1:14 PM:
" IWCJ, well Ella Mentry is dead wrong about not using the WASL as criteria for teachers and administrators. Why? Are the kids judged by it? Is it a criteria for graduation? Answer to both: YES. So if it is something we are going to measure kids by, then it is something we can measure teacher performance by. Anything less is a cop out for teachers and administrators. But the fact is our Liberal Legislator and union-money backed governor doesn't care about raising the bar and requiring excellence. They will simply handout raises like they are welfare checks. That's all they know. Gregoire is a fool for a governor and the state is realizing that. "
Viewpoint wrote on Aug 28, 2008 3:48 PM:
" Congratulations Math Tutor. Keep up the good work. Now if we only knew how many students you've brought up to grade level in the last year and divide that into the number of students who still need help, then we'd know how many more tutors we need locally. I'm assuming you're an unpaid volunteer. "
1209 wrote on Aug 28, 2008 4:21 PM:
" I am an unpaid volunteer SAT Math tutor. I tutor 4-5 students for every 2 hour session of Math. But there's no excuse why I couldn't take 10 students for every 2 hour session without a drop in our performance level. For a 40 hour work week, that would come out to 200 students. I've never used the excuse that the kids are too stupid to do my job. If you know what you're doing, you don't make excuses - you do your job, no matter how much you get paid to do it. Get rid of the inbred bigots who keep preaching that it takes democrats or republicans to make this work. Get rid of the teachers and administrators who troll these kids, trade porn, and cover for each other. The key is having teachers who know how to teach and want to teach. "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 28, 2008 6:39 PM:
" I wish respond to all the infantile rhetoric from those who haven't a clue about what really goes into being an effective teacher. Clearly the WASL is not an appropriate "measuring-stick" for determining student achievement or teacher performance. This test is fraught with flaws. WASL scores are directly tied to socio-economic factors. Teachers in the local area have done all of the things that the "experts" have told us to do and taught all the things we were asked to teach. Not one of us is allowed to do what we think will work. We are following orders. We use the "scientifically proven" curricula and the modern management methods. We are told that there is no money for books or materials. Not one us goes an entire summer without doing classwork, study, or seminars to keep our jobs. I worked well over 500 hours last summer at a second job. We are one of few skilled professions where classes required for our job must be done on our time and paid for by us. For the last few years I have considered changing professions. Not because of the work, but because of the lack of gratitude from administrators and the public. No matter how hard we work, we cannot physically force the kids to learn. TDN Badboy, how dare you suggest that an inaccurate test be used to determine payroll? Don't you realize it would merely lead to teachers leaving the local area for the wealthier districts up north. "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 28, 2008 6:52 PM:
" Don't our kids deserve teachers that work hard for them and don't move around simply to chase money? The state-based salary system was started so that poorer communities could have an equal shot at getting skilled teachers. In the old days the rich communities could recruit teachers by money. In reality, the teacher's union could fight state-base pay. It would increase competition for pay and, thus, rare teachers (science and math) could make more money through competition. The union decided not to take a stand on that issue, realizing that keeping quality teachers in poor districts was GOOD FOR KIDS. The recent pay raises for teachers were years, YES YEARS, past due. How many unions would have put up with a lack of COLAs for as long as the WEA. The longshoremen? No way! Teamsters? Not a chance! The intellectual pee-wits of this area are fortunate that an underpaid teacher taught them to read and write so that they could spew their hateful, misinformed rhetoric. IF the fair citizens of this area want a quality product, they need to ante up. Education spending in Washington is nearly the worst in the nation, and the industrialized world. If you want a Cadillac, buy it. You won't get a Cadillac when you pay for a Gremlin! And by the way, TDN Badboy, congratulations for getting through an entire post without referring to Governor Gregoire as "Da Tax Queen"; it simply sounds ignorant. "
cherokee wrote on Aug 28, 2008 8:37 PM:
" This last year, our Kelso Native American students achieved the second highest WASL scores for Native American students in the state. They were only barely beat out by one other group. The Indian Education department has some of the finest tutors in the country. Too bad they cannot earn over $100,000 for their diligent work. I assure you that these Men and Women make no where near that pay scale. This program has consistently been one of the best Indian Education programs in the nation! I again commend the tutors and especially the students themselves. "
bert wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:01 PM:
" Nom D'Plume, COLAs? No body gets COLAS any more. That is why the average American is losing ground financially. The simple mathematics is that COLAs are like the old childhood question about a starting pay of one penny a day but doubling it every day for a month. At the end of the month you would be making $10,737,417. The same formula works with COLAs Yes it takes longer to occur but the results are the same. "
bert wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:11 PM:
" Nom D'Plume, you are obviously not happy in your job. I am sure this shows in your leadership in the class room. All standardized test, be it the WASL or the SATs, are flawed. But they do help in measuring knowledege. We need to know that are students learning. So how would you measure the success of the student and therefore your success? "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:25 PM:
" I remember a not to good dancer blamed dance floor for her poor dancing. Now we have experts saying WASL is wrong. "
just a mom wrote on Aug 28, 2008 10:39 PM:
" CR scores?? Not a surprise. Too much drama crap going on with the admins. Kelso/ LV... you will get there! "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 29, 2008 6:17 AM:
" Bert, how dare you assume that my classroom leadership is anything other than impeccable? Yesterday, the first day of school, I had several students come to me disappointed that they were not scheduled for my class for a second year. They weren't wanting to attend my class because it's easy (I am one of the toughest teachers around); rather, they enjoy being in a class where they are valued, respected, and given more than a paper/pencil approach to life. As for job satisfaction, I have worked in a couple of different fields. All of them have been hard work; albeit for different reasons. Few teachers are asking for an easy job. The lazy ones have faded fast. Teachers simply want a little bit of respect for the job they do. Most importantly, if we teachers are going to be held personally responsible for WASL achievement we want the freedom to teach using the methods WE know to work in OUR classrooms, not the revolving door of mandated instruction and management that doesn't work. I am all for elimination of LID days and Late-Start/Early-Release days. For the most part, they are a waste of time, money and effort. I want, rather, the time to teach kids, that is why I chose to be a teacher. Tests and assessments should be rigorous and challenging. They should also measure what they say they measure. Unfortunately, the WASL tests are nebulous and hard to understand, particularly for struggling readers. "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 29, 2008 6:28 AM:
" If a student can't read and understand a question on the science test, we don't know what he knows about science. Therefore, the science test scores, in many cases, don't reflect scientific knowledge. It is frustrating to see so many people who are completely unwilling to admit that literacy rates mirror poverty rates. The less money a family has, the less literate they are likely to be. We must find a way to break that cycle. Rather than tens of millions of dollars on a flawed tests, we should be finding ways to educate all students. Literacy is the key to success on the WASL and in life. I wish I could find a way to get all parents to read to their children and love them. Unfortunately, many of our kids come to school with no prior experience for learning and few positive adult relationships. Both of which are key to success. Many of my students couldn't care less about class because they are worried about whether mom has OD'd on heroine again, or mom's new boyfriend is going to beat the tar out of them tonight. Many of our kids live a hand-to-mouth existence. Until we find a way to break the cycle of poverty, we will still struggle with low literacy rates and test scores. And before you ask, I don't believe in welfare, either. I do believe in the dignity of "A day's work for a day's pay". Well time to go to work. "
crowsfeet wrote on Aug 29, 2008 7:46 AM:
" No mas worry, they finally are paying the staff enough to make a gallant attempt to do their jobs as described within their job descriptions. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 29, 2008 7:58 AM:
" Nom D'Plume must think that raises are entitlements. In the non-government, non-union world raises are based on job performance. The WASL is an excellent way to rate job performance becasue it taken by all the students in the state. How do Longview kids compare to Cathlamet? Lake Chelan? Walla Walla, Sunnyside, Lynden, or Port Angeles? It is a very good way to judge the performance of the teachers and the administrators. If the Longview students are not doing well, it must be something more than the test as Nom D'Plume would have you believe. It has to do with the quality of education, and these numbers indicate that our kids are not receiving the best education our tax dollars can buy. As Cherokee showed above, it's not how much you pay teachers, it's what you expect from them. Nom D'Plume I expect more for my tax dollars. Da Tax Queen Gregoire perpetuated this problem with her blanket raises that have absolutely no relation to the job performance. It is time to change a broken system. It is time to tell the WEA that we, the public, will decide how to pay teachers and how much and we will decide how they will EARN raises. Pay should be based on job performance. Money is obviously important to Nom D'Plume so tie some criteria to it. Make the WASL numbers improve before raises. Judge the teachers on the quality of education the kids get. That will improve the scores very quickly. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 29, 2008 8:26 AM:
" Let's see so now all the parents are going to OD on heroin or beat the stepchildren senseless and that is why they are failing the WASL. How insane is that? The WASL scores said Longview was below the state average. So that must mean Longview has a much higher heroin rate. Does it? NO. It must have a much higher number of child abuse/violence cases. Does it? NO. Nom D'Plume is just an excuse machine. And by the way, why is he/she in her during school hours? Now I understand why your kids must like you. No Supervision. Get your butt back into the classroom and work on educating the kids. If you want to discuss the views in here, do it on your time and your dime. I do. "
bert wrote on Aug 29, 2008 9:44 AM:
" Many of my students couldn't care less about class because they are worried about whether mom has OD'd on heroine again, or mom's new boyfriend is going to beat the tar out of them tonight. "
bert wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:13 AM:
" Nom D'Plume, as you pointed out, "The lazy ones have faded fast." Unfortunately they may have faded fast but they are still in the classroom. Accepting their annual salary increases. After all, what better place is there for a lazy employee to work than in a system that only considers time on the job without being held accountable for results? You also point out, " If a student can't read and understand a question on the science test, we don't know what he knows about science." Let me ask you, how many of your students have you passed knowing they were unable to read at grade level, unable to write a single comprehensible sentence or perform a simple math equation? Pass them and let them become some other teacher's problem. Only to have the cycle repeated until we give them a piece of paper that say they are a high school graduate. Also let me ask, do you consider a child in a drug and/or alcohol abuse environment to be in a safe atmosphere? A child in a physically abusive home to be in danger? Aren't you required by law to report when you suspect a child is in peril? So if you are aware that,"Many of my students couldn't care less about class because they are worried about whether mom has OD'd on heroine again, or mom's new boyfriend is going to beat the tar out of them tonight.", you are not fulfilling one of your duties as required by the legislator. "
1209 wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:21 AM:
" It's not surprising to see that TDN has once again squandered the opportunity for an intelligent community forum of problem solving by handing it over to ignorant wind bags who have proven that they have absolutely no idea how to help a single child improve their education in Longview/Kelso. Nice job of distracting everyone from real solutions. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:35 AM:
" 1209, well quick being a long-winded windbag and give us your solutions. I've given you mine. Hold the teachers accountable for score results. Simple -- pay tied to performance, no blanket pay increases. If teachers in other districts can help kids achieve then our teachers can do the same. On a statewide basis, this tells me that our teachers are below the average. That must change and the way to do that is make their pay increase equal their performance. Simple. Now 1209 what our your ideas? Or are you just another long-winded, no-idea, say-nothing Liberal like the others. "
1209 wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:54 AM:
" Most of these posts are just more buck passing. If you really don't like what's going on in Longview and Kelso's schools, GET INVOLVED. VOLUNTEER to personally reverse the damage done by the school system. As a Math tutor, I've proved how ALL of the damage to my students can be reversed by volunteering no more than 2 hours a week - as long as you know what you're doing. If you really don't know what you're talking about, then, by all means, continue this cycle of solving nothing by passing the buck with partisan politics on where we should throw money at this problem. "
1209 wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:58 AM:
" I qualify myself for this topic because I am a volunteer SAT Math tutor for underprivileged high school students in Portland. Apart from my full time job as a Professional Mechanical Engineer, I've had great success in raising the SAT Math scores of my own students and getting them scholarships that they otherwise wouldn't have. My success is based upon correcting the errors of my students' teachers and the lack of involvement of their own parents. "
1209 wrote on Aug 29, 2008 10:59 AM:
" I am an unpaid volunteer SAT Math tutor. I tutor 4-5 students for every 2 hour session of Math. But there's no excuse why I couldn't take 10 students for every 2 hour session without a drop in our performance level. For a 40 hour work week, that would come out to 200 students. I've never used the excuse that the kids are too stupid to do my job. If you know what you're doing, you don't make excuses - you do your job, no matter how much you get paid to do it. Get rid of the inbred bigots who keep preaching that it takes democrats or republicans to make this work. Get rid of the teachers and administrators who troll these kids, trade porn, and cover for each other. The key is having teachers who know how to teach and want to teach. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 29, 2008 11:14 AM:
" Once again 1209 you fail to provide a solution. Typical defend the system politics. Volunteering is great but it is not the answer to this problem. Other districts have volunteers to. We shouldn't have to depend on unqualified people like you reverse damage to the students. What damage? Who created the damage? And don't say the WASL because that is simply a measuring stick for all students in the state. Other districts succeed where our fail. So obviously you are seeing "damage" being done. What damage? We should need volunteers to fix the damage. We need teachers who don't damage the students but teach them. I hear you talking but the scores indicate you don't know what you are talking about. "
1209 wrote on Aug 29, 2008 11:44 AM:
" Paying more money to someone who doesn't know how to teach isn't going to make them instantly know how to teach. Get a clue. They don't want to teach. Stop making excuses for a castrated, futile, political party that lets a liberal Democratic FEMALE mop the floor with any chump you send her way. Those of us who actually teach kids Calculus for free after everyone else has given up on them will just keep laughing at you inbred wind bags that keep preaching about where to throw the money. "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 29, 2008 7:07 PM:
" TDN Badboy: I just got home from work and wished to respond to your comments. Had you taken a few seconds to read, prior to engaging in further narcissistic ramblings, you would realize that my posts were written and submitted prior to the school day. What's more, I have never used a district computer to post to a blog. Your crass and ignorant comments are not only erroneous, but offensive. If you wish to engage in a debate on the issues facing the education system I would welcome that task. With a sigh, I recall the ancient lesson in Latin, "Illegitimi Noncarborundum". Words to live by, I suppose. "
Nom D'Plume wrote on Aug 29, 2008 7:12 PM:
" Bert: I have always followed the law as it regards child abuse and neglect cases. It is my practice to follow-up on these situations immediately as they arise. Unfortunately, the system is so overwrought with cases that it is rare for them to remove children for anything more than a few hours or days. There are few foster homes and many of the ones that are available don't take teenagers. Even when I report cases to police and CPS, the damage to the child has already been done. If you really want to make a difference, check into the foster home system. They can always use good homes and people who are willing to open their doors. But if you are just rabble-rousing, I don't have time for you. My work is far too important. "
Nom DPlume wrote on Aug 30, 2008 6:57 AM:
" Bert: I have always followed the law as it regards child abuse and neglect cases. It is my practice to follow-up on these situations immediately as they arise. Unfortunately, the system is so overwrought with cases that it is rare for them to remove children for anything more than a few hours or days. There are few foster homes and many of the ones that are available don't take teenagers. Even when I report cases to police and CPS, the damage to the child has already been done. If you really want to make a difference, check into the foster home system. They can always use good homes and people who are willing to open their doors. But if you are just rabble-rousing, I don't have time for you. My work is far too important. "
bert wrote on Aug 30, 2008 8:54 AM:
" Nom D'Plume: OK. The system is horribly broken and it is not your responsibility. It is all of the other teachers who are lazy. It is the parents. It is the unmotivated students. It is the overwhelmed CPS that fails to protect the child. Conspicuously absent is your response to the question," how many of your students have you passed knowing they were unable to read at grade level, unable to write a single comprehensible sentence or perform a simple math equation?" "
nipsey wrote on Aug 31, 2008 7:30 AM:
" You people are so ignorant. No one pitches a fit when a young graduate signs a baseball contract for $400,000, but we chastize school employees who make a fraction of that money so that this kid can get rich throwing a baseball! 99% of you wouldn't last 1 day in a classroom or in an administrator's position! The problem is in the fabric of the ignorant mode of thinking that is widespead in the small communities of the Northwest. Huntin' and fishin' and drinkin'......Too bad their are not degree programs for this-WA would be tops in the nation! "
An observer wrote on Aug 31, 2008 9:37 AM:
" As a former teacher, I will say there are some teachers that are horrible, that hang on collecting a check but, they are in the minority. Most teacher care and would like to help every kid; thats why we do what we do. However, we can't be with Johnny and Sue all day, we can't make them study, we can't control thier parents, we can't feed them and make sure thier safe 24-7.
We like most employee are mandated to do certain things just like any other employee in any other job, we rarely see immediate success and rarely recieve recogniton just like most other employees. I realize that the WASL is an ivalid measure, several of you can't figure that out. If I were in the classroom today I would have to teach to that measure, thank God I am not. Teaching is a full time job we see your child 45-55 minutes a day many of you have the opportunity to spent 16-24 hours with your kid, helping them improve,molding them into solid citizens. I wish many of you would use my 45 minutes! "
We like most employee are mandated to do certain things just like any other employee in any other job, we rarely see immediate success and rarely recieve recogniton just like most other employees. I realize that the WASL is an ivalid measure, several of you can't figure that out. If I were in the classroom today I would have to teach to that measure, thank God I am not. Teaching is a full time job we see your child 45-55 minutes a day many of you have the opportunity to spent 16-24 hours with your kid, helping them improve,molding them into solid citizens. I wish many of you would use my 45 minutes! "
avery's mom wrote on Sep 6, 2008 10:13 AM:
" I'm a semi recent graduate from Kelso High, and I can remember in school the teachers teaching us this off the wall stuff. We would ask why do we need to know that, or why are you teaching us that? and their response, "because it's on the WASL" That stupid test doesn't prove or do anything. Teachers can't teach the ways they want to teach or teach the stuff that they want to teach. I'm sure they didn't go to 8-10 years of schooling to have there curriculum handed to them. They have to cram everything these kids need to know to prepare for this test. It's a big waste of time. "
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