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 News from Around the Americas | March 2007 
Test Question Referring to Migrant Farmworkers Removed from WASL
 Associated Press
| | The Washington Assessment of Student Learning is a standardized test that can determine whether a student graduates. |
Seattle - A story depicting Mexican immigrant children picking strawberries for less than $1 an hour will be removed from a statewide test after an outcry from Latino leaders and test opponents.
Terry Bergeson, Washington state's top public education official, said Thursday the book excerpt should not have been used without an explanation that the scenes were from the 1950s, and not the present.
Opponents of the high-stakes statewide test and a national Latino group said they were not satisfied.
"This is not over. It's just getting started," said Maria Salazar, a regional vice president for the League of United Latin American Citizens.
The passage in question, part of a reading skills test for high school sophomores, is an excerpt from "Breaking Through," an award-winning fictionalized memoir by Francisco Jimenez.
Bergeson removed the excerpt after a nonprofit group opposing the statewide test sent state officials and news media an e-mail reportedly from a Latino student who said he was offended by the story.
An excerpt of the book provided by Bergeson's office depicts a migrant family's experiences working for a strawberry grower in the 1950s. It was included in the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, a standardized test that can determine whether a student graduates.
"I looked forward to weekends, when my brother, Papa, and I worked together. Roberto and I found ways to have fun. We raced to see who could pick faster and fill more crates," it reads in part.
The story also says the two boys were paid 85 cents an hour for their labor, while their father got $1 an hour.
The nonprofit Parent Empowerment Network said the student who sent the e-mail requested not to be publicly identified. Group director Juanita Doyon said the student was a high-school sophomore from Western Washington.
Bergeson, the state's elected superintendent of public instruction, said the book excerpt was reviewed as part of the test to guard against bias and insensitivity.
"Even after such review, it's possible that someone might find a passage or question insensitive to a particular group or culture. We appreciate that prospect being brought to our attention," Bergeson said.
Bergeson also said the education agency would review this year's reading scores for signs that Latino students fared differently on the test questions at issue.
Salazar said the excerpt was upsetting because it lacked any explanation about historic difficulties faced by Latinos in the U.S.
Without that context, the excerpt could serve to simply repeat stereotypes about Latinos being poorly paid migrant farmworkers, Salazar said. She called for an investigation into the test's development.
"Along with allocation of funds comes accountability in this country - the last I checked," Salazar said.
The WASL, as the test is known, has been a hot topic for state lawmakers in recent years. Legislators have previously moved to soften some of its graduation requirements, and are considering further changes to the system.
Doyon said the episode illustrates the problems with standardized, statewide exams such as the WASL. "The whole test needs to be thrown out. This invalidates every single student's test," she said. |
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