SPEAKER. Juanita Doyon, director of Parent Empowerment Network and Mothers Against WASL coordinator, addresses the group during a March 7 meeting.
With the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) test to hit all Washington state elementary, middle and high schools mid-March, parents are getting their children prepared for the state’s rigorous new academic standards in reading, writing and mathematics. But other mothers not prepping their children are opting out.
“I believe in public education but when the WASL started I had some real concerns about the validity of the test,” said Juanita Doyon, director of Parent Empowerment Network, Mothers Against WASL coordinator and parent to public school children. “Because the state has no law that says parents must allow their children to test,” she continued. “We have taken that and claimed that as our right. The state agreed it was our right to opt out of the test and that began in 2000.”
Also in 2000, Doyon helped to organize Mothers Against WASL with other parents of public school children after two of her own children failed a portion of the test.
“(Mothers Against WASL) believes the WASL is a fraud test,” Doyon said. “It is not appropriate to the grade level of the children it is testing.” Doyon claims research shows the WASL tests children two to three grade levels above the level it is meant to test.
Doyon said the goals of Mothers Against WASL is to first get the WASL removed as a graduation requirement, a requirement new this year, as well as inform parents of their right to opt out.
“These are our children and these are our schools and on philosophical grounds alone, we don’t believe that one test should be used for all the purposes the WASL is being used for,” Doyon remarked. “WASL was not designed to be used as a diagnostic tool for children or for a graduation requirement.”
Tacoma-area Mothers Against WASL coordinator, Lisa Lasseter said the organization is key in giving “people knowledge of what the WASL is and how it is being used against our children.
“This is about children’s education and when we take (one) test and base their whole education on (one) test, we have a big problem,” she said. “In this world we have doctors, lawyers, mechanics - all sorts of people - one test doesn’t fit us all. (This group) is allowing parents to know what the WASL is and what it is about and informing them they have options.”
In hopes of new legislation allowing for alternatives to the WASL and it being required for graduation, Doyon said Mothers Against WASL recommends parents opt out their 10th grade children from the test.
In 2004, Doyon ran for state superintendent, but lost the campaign. As a result of her efforts, Doyon decided to form non-profit Parent Empowerment Network in January of last year, which then took on Mothers Against WASL as one of its projects. Doyon said the goal of the Parent Empowerment Network, as well as Mothers Against WASL, is to help parents work better with schools and improve the communication between home and school.
“We believe when parents and teachers work well together that is when children succeed,” she explained. “We would love to get past WASL and be able to just advocate for students, parents and teachers and create a better system. But as long as WASL is in place, it will continue to take over the system.”
Though this year’s high school WASL test will be administered starting March 13 and the lower grade levels April 17, Doyon said there are future solutions to WASL in other districts and states around the country.
Doyon said the group is looking into Nebraska’s STAR (School-based Teacher-led Assessment Reporting System) system currently and are in the works of making proposals to Washington state about the STAR system.
The plan, Doyon explained, deals with the individual school districts in the state. Each district designs its own accountability plan, which has state standards but each district can decide whether or not it wants to adopt those standard or develop its own to present to be approved by the state.
“If you have a set of good standards at the state level that are basic skills, it is proven standardized tests will test to state standards,” Doyon added. “We would like the state to go to a system where the school districts develop their accountability plan for approval by the state. The state has no business testing an individual child.”
For more information about Mothers Against WASL, contact Lisa Lasseter at (253) 536-2532 or visit www.mothersagainstwasl.org.
