February 8, 2007
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Old Capital Building
P.O. Box 47200
Olympia, WA 98504-7200
Governor Christine Gregoire
Legislative Building
P.O. Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Attorney General Rob McKenna
P.O. Box 40100
Olympia, WA 98504-0100
Bethel School District
516 E. 176th St.
Spanaway, WA 98387
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sullivan
700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220
Seattle, WA 98101-1271
Re: Washington Alternate Assessment System-Portfolio
Dear Addressees:
I am writing this letter to inform you that my son DV, a 7th grade student who is deaf and visually impaired will not take part in the WAAS-Portfolio or any other form of state assessment aligned with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. My decision is based on the information that I have obtained concerning the WAAS-Portfolio, its requirements and administration.
On February 7, 2007, I spoke to Judy Kraft, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Alternate Assessment Specialist. Ms. Kraft explained that the scoring criteria for evidence submissions of the WAAS-Portfolio is based on a one-week review of submitted evidence by all student portfolios and then used as the scoring guides for determining whether the evidence submitted by teachers for individual students meets the standards defined in Figure 1. When I shared with Ms. Kraft my concerns relating to the process, EALR extensions and evidence examples presented in the teachers guide to WAAS-Portfolio, she recommended that I “opt-out” of the WAAS-Portfolio.
The current system does not allow students the option of opting-out and still receiving a high school diploma. My son, who is an individual with a disability, will graduate after the year 2008, which is the first year students must have passed the 10th grade reading, writing, and math portions of the WAAS, and come the year 2010, my son must pass the reading, writing, math and science in order to receive a high school diploma. The recommendation made by Ms. Kraft, OSPI Alternate Assessment Specialist, does not support my son receiving his high school diploma. The OSPI has developed an alternate assessment that discriminates against students with severe disabilities by holding them to standards that are not based on academic achievement. Instead, the assessment focuses on a student’s social relationship with his or her peers, self-determination, his or her ability to modify and make adaptations to his or her environment and demonstrate an ability to perform skills “in an extensive variety of settings or context.” OSPI has not released examples of what evidence is considered a Level 1, 2, 3 or 4, which would be the equivalent to the WASL released items’ annotations, rubrics and anchor sets.
The Washington Alternate Assessment System-Portfolio is assessing the behaviors of a student with severe disabilities, not his or her academic skills. When assessing a student’s academic achievement in reading, writing, math and science the Washington state is requiring school Districts to present, for scoring, evidence of a student’s performance in the following areas:
- A student’s social relationships with his or her peers to demonstrate varied, sustained social interactions during standard- based instructional activities;
- A student’s self-determination within his or her ability to monitor, evaluate and set goals for own performance of the targeted skill;
- A student’s ability to perform targeted skill in an extensive variety of settings or contexts; and
- A student’s ability to appropriately use natural and other supports, modifications, adaptations, or assistive technology to perform the targeted skill. (OSPI, 2006)
The state list acceptable evidence as
- Notes from parents, general education teachers, and peers which document direct observation of the student’s performance
The state requires that each entry of evidence “consist of at least five pieces of evidence that indicate progress over time, self-determination, use of supports, generalization, and social relationships” (OSPI, 2006). The student is assessed according to his or her behavior not his or her academic abilities.
General education students are not being assessed in the areas of social relationships and self-determination or are their abilities to access various forms of supports, such as assistive technology, modifications and adaptations being assessed, or are they being required to perform academic skills in various settings or contexts, such as their homes, places of employment or community settings. General education students are not required to submit evaluations from their peers, parents or general education teachers.
The Washington state scoring criteria for children with severe disabilities is demonstrated in Figure 1 (See page 30).
In the teachers guide to the WAAS-Portfolio (OSPI, 2006), teachers are given guidance of what evidence a student with severe disabilities must submit as evidence to demonstrate he or she has achieved a level 3 or 4 in the areas of self-determination and social relationships, and a level 3 or 4 in the area of accessing modifications and adaptations appropriately, and the ability to perform skills in “extensive variety of settings and context.”
The guide, in various forms, gives direction to how students with severe disabilities must perform and what types of evidence will demonstrate a student has met the reading, writing, math and science standards as evidenced through the generalization skills of self-determination, social relationships, settings and context, and modifications and adaptations. Some examples are
- Write evaluations of peer’s completed work;
- Fill out own planning, evaluation and monitoring forms;
- Predict the oncoming of a seizure and move himself or herself to a safe position;
- Submit a chart of how many seizures experienced at school;
- Submit copies of personal checkbooks or savings registry;
- Notes/descriptions/evaluation from peers judging student’s behaviors, participation, and ability to follow rules;
- Provide a class developed graph, captioned to explain the involvement of the student;
- Provide a party invitation;
- Provide information about how student maintains health and safety;
- Submit videos of student;
- Submit photos of student;
- Provide evaluations by employer/co-worker;
- Submit tape recorded conversations;
- Provide documentation of how many times student needed to adjust hearing aid or light in a room;
- Photos or video clips of what student wore to school;
- Provide a chart of purchased items of student for over several months;
- Buddy evaluations of student’s ability as noted in a journal;
- Lunchroom aide keeps count of how many times student requests food and drink and what food or drink requested;
- Count how many milk cartons were handed out at lunch for 10 days.
- Perform various duties within the home to demonstrate generalization skills;
- Provide personal information (i.e. health information, personal checkbook of savings registry, pictures depicting student’s clothing, employment performance, personal judgments by others (parents, teachers, employer and peers), and parent letter describing student’s feelings.
I have many concerns with WAAS-Portfolio. Some of those concerns are listed below:
- Many of the learning activities and evidence of performance are impossible for students with severe disabilities to perform or produce.
- It is unfair to judge the academic progress of students with severe disabilities by having other students evaluate their behaviors, reading and communication skills, and their ability to follow rules and participate in classroom activities.
- It is dangerous to expect a student with a seizure disorder can be taught to predict his or her own brain activity and move himself or herself to a safe place.
- Keeping a chart of a student’s seizure activity should not be used as evidence of performance to demonstrate the student has met the science standard.
- It is wrong to request that students with severe disabilities provide documentation that discusses their health history in order to meet the science standard.
- It is inappropriate to request that students with severe disabilities present copies of their personal checkbook and savings registry as evidence showing they have met the math standard.
- It is physically and mentally abusive to direct a student with severe disabilities to count how many milk cartons were handed out at lunch for 10 days to prove they have met the math standard. Some schools have over 1000 students.
- Students with severe disabilities are expected to present evidence of skills from within the home environment.
- Students with severe disabilities are being assessed for academic achievement based on their social relationships with peers, self-determination skills to monitor, evaluate and set goals for own performance, ability to perform academic skills in various settings and context, and demonstrate appropriate uses for various modifications, adaptations, or assistive technology.
In conclusion, the state of Washington has designed an alternate assessment system that is being used as the alternate form of testing for qualified students with disabilities and utilizing criteria and methods of administration that have the effect of subjecting qualified individuals with disabilities to discrimination on the basis of disability; that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the public entity’s program with respect to individuals with disabilities; and that perpetuates the discrimination of another public entity if both public entities are subject to common administrative control or are agencies of the same State.
I request that the Governor, through the Attorney General seek a court mandate to stop the administration of the current WAAS-Portfolio. The State must develop a system that assesses the academic achievements of the individual students with disabilities qualifying for the alternate assessment, not an assessment that scores their social relationships, self-determination, ability to make modifications and adaptations, and ability to perform in “extensive variety of settings or context."
Please provide a written response to this letter of the action you will be taking to stop the administration of the WAAS-Portfolio.
Sincerely,
Nancy Vernon
cc: Representative Dave Quall
Senator Rosemary McAuliffe
Speaker of the House Frank Chopp
