WASL not something to fear – or ignore

By David W. Kuhns Sr., Northwest Guardian

Next week, students across the state of Washington will take the second half of the annual WASL tests. For Fort Lewis parents the test will bring out a variety of feelings. For some the test will engender something like dread, or others nothing but indifference. Both these extremes are wrong in their reactions.

Perhaps it would be better if people called the test by its proper name. The Washington Assessment of Student Learning is exactly that — an assessment. It gauges how well students have mastered key skills and knowledge they will need for success in our society.

The examination has become a political hot potato — with heated arguments on both sides about its fairness, accuracy and importance. Those are areas inappropriate for an Army newspaper to discuss. But until those issues are resolved a few things will remain constant.

First, tests like WASL are found in every state. Your children are not going to PCS away from a testing requirement.

One of the great challenges of being an Army parent is to help your children adapt to different educational standards and expectations as you move from state to state. It might be easier if there was a national standard. But that isn’t the system we work in. When you move from a DODDS school in Germany, to Texas or Georgia and on to Washington there are major shifts in educational focus.

Students don’t even learn the same things in the same years. When my family arrived at Fort Lewis after four years in Texas, my son had to spend most of a school year reviewing math he had already covered at Fort Bliss. In other areas there were expectations that he have knowledge of subjects Texas schools had not yet addressed.

Making those moves is challenging. It stands to reason that focusing on the things that remain the same from assignment to assignment will help your children be more successful wherever you move. Army parents have to stay involved in their children’s education. Teachers change, schools change, curricula change, but your involvement and support need to remain strong.

Norma Melo, the school liaison officer for Fort Lewis, says that parental involvement in education is key to not only success on standardized tests, but to success in life later on. The stakes are high.

You don’t get to pick and choose parts of the educational process to support or ignore. You can’t tell your children to concentrate on reading but not to worry about math. You have to support and encourage everything in school if you want your children to do as well as they can. WASL is part of that total package.

But how to help your children succeed on WASL?

For next week, you can follow the actions common sense would seem to dictate. Make sure students are well rested before they go to school. See that they have a good breakfast. Send them off with encouragement and a positive attitude.

But now is the time to begin preparation for the test next year, too. Look on it as a leadership challenge. You need to build your children’s morale as they look ahead to future tests. Work with their teachers to address areas of concern. Even if you are no longer at Fort Lewis when the next school year arrives, you will likely face a similar test anyway. Help build in your children the can-do attitude you want to see in your fellow Soldiers. You don’t have to fear the WASL — but you certainly can’t ignore it, either.