State Threatens Parent Group

The following letter was received by Citizens United for Responsible Education (CURE) of Washington State. The letter was delivered to CURE via legal messenger.

While the letter is obviously intended to intimidate, the letter actually reveals something far more serious: The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) of Washington State does not want public scrutiny of the actual Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) questions which should be the right, the responsibility, of every parent in the state of Washington. We are in big trouble when a state agency has been given the authority to keep the public from scrutinizing its activity or material to which children in public schools are exposed. If this law is allowed to stand, how long before parents aren't allowed to see books, curriculums, supplemental teaching materials?

The authority to keep the WASL test questions from parents was given by the Washington State Legislature. Being as such, I contacted my state legislators and requested of them whether they believe it should be lawful for the state to keep parents from scrutinizing, disclosing, or discussing materials to which their children will be subject?

One legislator responded as follows:

...my interpretation is that if parents or any other persons get access to questions on examinations before the exam is administered, they are forbidden from sharing those questions with the public and/or the examinee. Therefore, my interpretation is that if the examinee knows the questions before the exam is administered, there is little value in the exam.

This was a run around the issue:

Your response indicates you believe RCW 28A.635.040 is open to "interpretation". When ESHB 1209 was passed, was it the intent of the House and Senate to include language that was open to interpretation, especially when enforcement was given to a state agency?

You see ... it is not how you or I interpret RCW 28A.635.040, it is how the agency (the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) interprets it. And the way OSPI is interpreting this RCW is in such manner as to keep the assessment questions out of the public purview, away from public scrutiny.

Do you agree that OSPI should be allowed to give children assessment questions that parents aren't allowed to see or discuss, either amongst themselves or publicly, via whatever venue the parents so choose?

It is very apparent that the "examples" of assessment questions put out by the OSPI in no way reflect the actual questions. Why is that? And, in light of that, isn't the legislature demanding the public give the OSPI carte blanche trust; trust that obviously is not warranted?

As for there being value to the WASL, there never has been an objective value. The WASL is neither valid nor reliable. The WASL is an assessment and an assessment is a subjective determination. Subjective determinations are how one feels about something. The WASL is primarily to determine whether the child is demonstrating the wanted process. "Process" is defined by Richard Stiggins, who had a subcontract in the writing of the WASL, as a "behavior/procedure".

The bottom line ... is that the legislature has passed into law, language that allows OSPI to ask children questions that determine whether the child is demonstrating the wanted behaviors, while at the same time threatening any parent who dares blow the whistle.

Isn't that called tyranny?

The legislator responded as follows:

Test questions are not releasable under the federal Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.552) because they are not a "record."

The Washington Public Disclosure Act (RCW 42.17.310(f)) specifically exempts test questions from disclosure.

The federal FERPA (20 U.S.C. section 1232(g)) does not apply because it addresses the rights of students and their families to review and inspect the school records of the student, and does not address testing.

The federal Hatch Amendment (20 U.S.C. section 1232(h)) prohibits certain student testing (beliefs and attitudes) without prior consent by the parent.

RCW 28A.635.040 makes disclosure of test questions a misdemeanor with a penalty of at least $100 but not more than $500.

Again, another run around the issue of whether parents have a right to see and discuss any and all material to which their child is subjected in the course of a day in the classroom:

... your letter does not address any of the concerns I wrote you about, specifically giving the OSPI the power to ask children behaviorally oriented assessment (subjective) questions while threatening any parent who blows the whistle on those behaviorally oriented questions.

It appears to me that the law allowing the OSPI to ask these behaviorally oriented questions needs to be changed.

Are you willing to support such a law?

There has been no response, making it very obvious that this legislator does not support the right of parents to see any and all material to which their child is subjected in the classroom; that this legislator does support giving a state agency the right to threaten any parent who blows the whistle on the inappropriate questions being ask on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

Another legislator called, wanting to know how one got access to the WASL questions. Frankly, considering the Legislature was supposed to sign off on the assessment, I find it surprising that the Legislators haven't requested to see the databank of questions. Why is that? Have our legislators been negligent in their oversight of the assessment? It would appear so. When I responded that legislators should have access to that database anytime they wanted to, I was told that it might not be worth ruffling feathers over.

Say what??!! The behaviorally oriented and subjective questions being asked of children in order to assess their mastery of the state essential "academic" learning requirements — the measure of school, teacher, and student accountability — aren't worth ruffling feathers over?

If our legislators are not in Olympia to protect the people they serve, why are they there? To serve the interests of the state? To serve the interests of the political party? It would appear so.

And all the while, the lives of children are being destroyed and our nation is falling into the crevasse of tyranny. But our Legislators, our elected officials, our state employees ... really do know what is "best"; they really do have our "best interests" in mind!

© September 2002

Lynn M Stuter

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