CHARLES BEAMS spoke of And Now This.. to DAN TRIPLETT on 12-24-96
CB>In response to a message to Charles on ...
CB>DT>I don't know the number of districts in our state.  As for setting
CB>DT>their  own standard the answer is no.  All districts will be
CB>DT>responsible to  meet the "Essential Learning" standards which from
CB>DT>what I have seen are  very high.
CB>But how specific are they?  Who establishes the evaluation criteria?
The Essential Learning standards are stated in a more general sense and 
then broken down into specific components.  So for example, "The student 
understands and uses different skills and strategies to read" is broken 
down into specifics for each benchmark level.  (applies phonetic 
principles to read, use of language structure such as prefixes, 
suffixes, contractions, simple abbreviations; the list goes on here...
The benchmarks are for grade 4, 7, and 10.  The current work is still in 
process but near completion.  The current discussion centers around the 
idea of making the 4th grade benchmark a responsibility of teachers at 
all grade levels.  There will be expected learning outcomes at all grade 
levels and accountability for what is being taught (and what is not) 
will become more the norm.  
The state is currently heading the drive for improving the standards of 
Washington's educational system.  There are teacher, professors of ed, 
businesses, parents, and legislators involved in establishing the 
evaluation criteria.  
It's a bit overwhelming right now.....people are getting training and in 
turn training staff members on how these upcoming changes will effect 
us....and how it will change some of the things we currently do.  
Dan
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