Seattle Young People's Project: WASL Haunted High

Seattle Young People's Project (SYPP) is a youth-led social justice organization located in Seattle. In October of 2006 SYPP organized its first critical truth action for the Education Justice Campaign. The EJC began when youth identified the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and its use as a high-stakes exit exam as a major issue in their lives. The WASL disproportionately affects youth of color, low-income youth, English language learners and youth with learning disabilities. We feel that the exam worsens the existing institutional racism found in the public education system. Learn more about the WASL and join the campaign at www.sypp.org

Sukhi Sanghera and I edited this piece together. This video is a PepperSpray Production. PepperSpray is an all-volunteer activist video collective, the video arm of the Seattle Independent Media Center. We put together a weekly TV show that airs on 15 stations nationwide. Check out our website www.peppersprayproductions.org and our TV show at www.youtube.com/indymediapresents

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• SYPP
• WASL
• state
• equivalency
• test
• youth
• protest
• pepperspray
• school
• graduation
• requirement
• educational
• justice

[Tavarshia]

So the WASL tests are graded by human scorers. Could that reflect the educational background of the scorers themselves?

^_^ Are the scorers the ones who wrote the confusing questions in the test?

Will future students end up in Bellevue on the freeway off ramps holding cardboard signs saying -

"wil wurk 4 fud" (?)

[lonkydonky223]

Im am so very impressed and proud of you all involved in this video, the creativeness and intelligence it took to put this together and the haunted WASL, alone show's that this stupid WASL is an unnecessary unwarranted bunch of over priced garbage. good work. MOM of 5

[nschario]

Agreed Let's burn the WASL til it's ashes. Let's sue The State Lesglature for Lying and everything.

[nschario]

ENOUGH WASHINGTON STATE LEGLASTURE! IS THIS WHAT YOU EDUCATION? THE SENSELESS NOT ALLOWED TEST HELPING INNOCENT STUDENTS NO MORE! NOW SET THOSE SLAVES FREE! I MEAN IT SET THEM FREE! THEN AFTER FROM NOW ON THERE WILL BE NO MORE WASL FOR YOUR TYPE OF EDUCATION! YOU STATE SENATORS IN YOUR HOMES COME TO THIS VIDEO! AND READ THIS COMMENT! THE EVIL WASL WILL BE NO MORE! from Nate Schario.

[akadian666]

yeah down with wasl