WEA should use report card

Why is the Washington Education Association opposed to a report card? The response from WEA spokesman Rich Wood (“Two Spokane schools earn report’s high marks,” May 7) proves just how badly we need the Evergreen Freedom Foundation’s new Report Card on Washington State’s Elementary Schools 2009.

Our Report Card is based on WASL scores provided by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction – with no commentary or agenda. It simply makes information more accessible and understandable to parents and others who have a stake in school performance.

Wood claims, “The education system is about making sure all students meet the same high academic standards, not ranking them.” Yet the rankings reveal that the education system is failing to ensure that all students have that opportunity. And that proof is based solely on state-derived numbers with no commentary.

Washington can’t afford to lose more generations to poor education. Instead of attacking a useful tool based on a statewide assessment, why doesn’t the WEA take it for what it is and use it to address our failures and celebrate our successes? Putting the numbers in terms people can understand can only help.

Diana Cieslak

Director, School Report Card Project,

Evergreen Freedom Foundation

Olympia