Academic acceleration policy is wrong | Letters


August 23, 2011 · 3:44 PM

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Something is wrong with the Federal Way School District acceleration policy. The district claims “the number of students enrolled in advanced classes nearly doubled when the new policy was implemented.”

What is not mentioned is that this increase includes students who haven’t actually “demonstrated acquisition of required knowledge skills” as demonstrated through the state standardized test and required by the district policy.

At Thomas Jefferson High School, almost the entire freshman and sophomore classes (1,010 students) were placed in “accelerated classes” with no distinction being made between students who had or had not passed the state test.

It appears that the district is playing a numbers game with our children, pumping up numbers to look good. They have implemented this policy without forethought and adequately training teachers. The district needs to step back and revise this policy so it is truly good for all students in the district.

Shelley Scuderi, Kent

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