High stakes assessments are highly controversial in most states. Washington State's WASL was not designed to address the requirements of NCLB, having been adopted by default as that legislation was enacted, yet has been used to address that requirement.
The Bellingham Herald, a McClatchy Paper, quoted Educational Systemics' President Michael Jay as saying: "Replacing the WASL is theoretically possible, but there are a lot of regulations under the federal No Child Left Behind Act that a new test must meet. Michael Jay, the founder of Educational Systemics, a Bellingham-based company that helps schools and educators with strategic planning and technology development, thinks Dorn has a tough job ahead of him.
"Regardless of who had won that position, we really do have to do something about how our state assessment and the role that it plays in terms of measuring the success of our schools and determining the nature of the curriculum to engage children in so they can all be successful," Jay said.
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