The following letter was sent to each candidate for Superintendent of Public instruction. Their responses will be published on May 1st. -editor.
Hello Candidates,
My name is Carolyn Leith and I am co-editor of the blog Seattle Education.
At a recent Seattle School Board Director’s Meeting, Superintendent Nyland shared information with the board about communication the district had received from OSPI concerning the Smarter Balanced Assessment currently being administered in Seattle’s schools.
In the letter, OSPI informed SPS that 40 schools had fallen below the 95% participation rate. Now these schools are required to create an enforcement plan to improve participation rates. From the letter:
I’m asking each candidate to make a statement concerning OSPI’s actions.
Statement will be:
- no more than 500 words in length
- published, unedited, in a separate blog post – so all candidates will receive equal attention
- (please include campaign photo )
The deadline for submission is 10 PM on April 30th. Statements will be published on May 1st.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to your response.
-Carolyn Leith
Background information below:
Seattle Education 
Will you also be posting any and all responses? I’m very interested as well.
Yes, all responses will be posted and unedited.
Dora
I am confused. If every parent has the legal right to opt their child out of testing, where does this 95% number come from?
What piece of legislation imposes this 95% standard?
Will parents and children that are responsible for a less than 95% result be sent to their rooms without milk and cookies?
— Dan Dempsey
former WA State Board of Education Mathematics Advisory Board panelist
This test has not been determined to be reliable so they need the scores to establish that. The whole thing is a scam.