#5 - What's with this WASL?

Why does it seem like the arts have been pushed aside in favor of "teaching to the WASL"?  Let's begin with a bit of history for you on the WASL.  Before the WASL the State of Washington spent a tremendous amount of time and talent to determine the EALRs: the Essential Academic Learning Requirements.  Those are the Target Learnings that are identified for all of the students in our state.  There are Target Learnings in the content areas of Reading, Writing, Communications, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Art and Health/Fitness.  We are asking our students to perform in different ways in their daily work and on assessments.  They must be able to apply their knowledge to specific situations and explain their reasoning.

To help determine the student achievement of those learnings, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning was developed.  Those WASL tests are given in the 4^th, 7^th and 10^th Grades.  The results of the WASL help us determine whether our instruction is doing the job and getting our students to the target learnings.  The state uses the scores to help school districts set specific learning goals for their students.  Yes, we do have to focus on the basics, but we do believe in the importance of a well-rounded education.   We strive to provide experiences for our students in the arts.  Next time I will give you the update on Art instruction here at Acme.