Their kids scored big fat zeros on the Washington Alternative Assessment System (WAAS) last year, and this year parents asked Green Lake Elementary special ed teachers Lenora Stahl and Juli Griffith not to put their children through an ordeal they say has unreasonable and inappropriate standards for students with special needs. more ›

In just a few hours, the new state schools superintendent--a man named Randy Dorn--will announce his new vision for standardized testing in Washington. Dorn campaigned on the promise that he would revamp the public schools assessment strategy, replacing the often-criticized Washington Assessment of Student Learning with "a simpler, fairer test." So far, it looks like the 10 a.m. announcement will be related to his expected support of a bill before the state Senate this session that would create a three-part assessment system (including, yes, a "state-administered summative achievement assessment" of some kind) to replace the WASL. Fingers crossed that the new test and other measures will accomplish that perfect balance between tough and fair, and that Dorn can cut through all the politically correct educationese we find so repugnant to speak about our school systems honestly and directly. more ›

King County counted another 20,000-odd votes today, leaving Dave Reichert (R) up 1,965 votes over Democrat Darcy Burner in the 8th Congressional District race. It doesn't feel right to be calling it a race, exactly, at this point, unless there are molasses races we don't know about. There are still about 276,000 King County votes to be tabulated, and at 20,000-30,000 per shift, it's going to be a while yet before we have a final result. And then the recount can start. For those of you scoring at home, Peter Goldmark has a lead of over 40,000 on Doug Sutherland for Public Lands Commissioner, and Randy Dorn is up 43,000 over incumbent Superintendent of Public Schools Terry Bergeson. more ›