UPDATED July 20, 2022-- See Below

The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction sent us an email yesterday requesting a correction and a retraction of a blog by WPC's Center for Education Director Liv Finne.  Here's the text of the email (directed to Liv and WPC CEO Michael Gallagher):  

Good afternoon, Liv and Michael,

I’m reaching out regarding the inaccurate and unethical portrayal of information in your blog post published today, State superintendent says he’s trying to cancel state assessment of student learning. In the post you claim that, in his comments last week to the State Board of Education, Superintendent Reykdal stated that he was “looking for ways to cancel the testing of student learning levels.”

Federal law requires state assessments, and Washington state will always assess its students consistent with state and federal laws. In his comments, Superintendent Reykdal was specifically – and very clearly – referring to the Smarter Balanced Assessment and whether he has the authority to choose a different test and/or test vendor(s) to ensure we are using meaningful assessments.

We look forward to you issuing a correction. In addition, I continue to encourage you to reach out to us in the future to ensure your blog posts are factually accurate.

Thank you,

After reading this, I immediately wondered if I missed something.  I'd watched the video a number of times, but I thought I'd better give it another careful viewing while trying to approach it with fresh eyes and no assumptions. After doing so, I sent a response to OSPI on behalf of WPC. 

Hello          ,

I read your email pasted below and I always appreciate it when people inform us of anything they believe is inaccurate so that it can be reviewed and corrected if need be. I've reviewed the video of Superintendent Reykdal at the State Ed Board referenced by Liv's blog several times. 

Supt. Reykdal told the state ed board that higher education was no longer interested in tests like Smarter Balance and that it never meant anything to them.  Then he said the things that matter to employers still matter but the "thing that we keep experimenting with, tests, Smarter Balance, End of Course, the WASL, that keeps coming and going because it actually means nothing except to the people who want to beat up public education and they frame it wrong every time." 

Immediately following that, he talks about looking for the authority to exit the testing on his own.  

So, the context is that he cites several statewide assessment tests as being meaningless and says that no one cares about them except critics, then informs the board that he is seeking authority to exit the state from the latest. 

As you can see in the transcript (which is provided on the blog) and the video of the statement (also embedded on the blog (added after your original email)), Superintendent Reykdal was not specifically or clearly referring to a single test or a replacement vendor.

It is neither "inaccurate" nor "unethical" to comment on what Superintendent Reykdal said simply because he now regrets saying it.  It also seems in poor taste and unnecessary for your office to lob an accusation of being "unethical." 

We've done our part to make the video of the presentation easy for the public to find.  People can watch what the Superintendent said and judge for themselves whether what he said is being described fairly and accurately.  

Best,

David Boze

So who was right? 

Here's the 80 seconds or so of the video the majority of Liv's blog focuses on... 

And here is a larger portion you can view to be sure you are not missing context:

Who was right? Now you can be the judge.

PS. The poor audio quality was a problem for Superintendent Reykdal's microphone, not the WPC YouTube channel. Also, I left off the name of the OSPI comms staffer because I don't like it when staff take the criticism for what their bosses are actually responsible for. 

UPDATED July 20, 2022

In a report in The Center Square, OSPI accuses WPC of using "bits and pieces" of Superintendent Reykdal's comments in order to create a false impression by omission. Since our materials are direct cuts and nothing was spliced together, the assertion here is confusing. So to be fair to readers, I sent the following email request to OSPI's communications department to obtain the video portion that they think has been omitted and obliterates our assessment of the presentation.  That request read as follows: 

Good morning Katy,

In the media piece pasted below, you allege "WPC took bits and pieces of the Superintendent’s remarks to purposefully cut out that important context."  Please send me the video context that you believe makes clear WPC is in the wrong.  I'd like to review it and will also post that clip on our website for readers to evaluate themselves.

Thank you.

Sincerely, 

UPDATE July 22, 2022

I emailed Katy at OSPI with a follow-up request for the same information. I recieved an automated response, so I sent the request to the individual listed as handling requests in her absence.  No reply has been received, so we cannot yet provide readers with the specific video moments OSPI claims would illustrate the context necessary for properly understanding Superintendent Reykdal's comments. 

FINAL UPDATE Aug. 8, 2022

On July 27, OSPI's Executive Director of Communications sent me the following email as per my request (outlined above) for the context of the presentation that would show WPC was misusing his remarks to create a false impression.   

The delay in receiving this email was due to a vacation at OSPI.  I'd intended to post it at the end of July, but I too, got caught up in other things. The email presented here was sent to Liv earlier in July, but I was not cc'd on it.

Hi Liv,

It’s really dishonest to pull half of a quote and insert your own meaning within the quote (highlighted below). I am equally as concerned about not misleading your readers, which is why I am asking that you issue a correction. I’ve included the Superintendent’s full quote below. It’s very clear that he is referring to whether Washington should pull out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and seek a new test for our students – he is clearly not saying that we should no longer have a state assessment (which, again, is in federal law).

Here is his full quote, word for word, and on the record:

“We’re still clinging to the Consortium of Smarter Balanced. I don’t know how much longer that should last. I am trying to figure out if I have the authority to exit us on my own, or if that needs something else.”

It’s very clear that you took his statements out of context and added your own meaning to the quote (rendering it factually inaccurate), which is incredibly misleading your readers. Now that I’ve reminded you of the full quote, in order to ensure your readers receive accurate information, I look forward to you updating your blog post.

The "half a quote" in which Liv's "own meaning" was allegedly inserted was this: "“I am trying to figure out if I have the authority to exit us [from testing] on my own, or if that needs something else.” 

Brackets are used within a quote to provide clarity or context so the reader can better understand what is being said, while also signifying that the speaker did not actually say those words.  It's not dishonest unless you insert false context to give the quote a meaning different from that actually made by the speaker. 

Based on the reason provided here, I feel absolutely confident that Liv provided accurate analysis of the Superintendent's comments and WPC made the right call in refusing a retraction.  As I pointed out earlier:

Supt. Reykdal told the state ed board that higher education was no longer interested in tests like Smarter Balance and that it never meant anything to them.  Then he said the things that matter to employers still matter but the "thing that we keep experimenting with, tests, Smarter Balance, End of Course, the WASL, that keeps coming and going because it actually means nothing except to the people who want to beat up public education and they frame it wrong every time." 

Immediately following that, he talks about looking for the authority to exit the testing on his own.  

So, the context is that he cites several statewide assessment tests as being meaningless and says that no one cares about them except critics, then informs the board that he is seeking authority to exit the state from the latest. 

Read OSPI's objection and watch the video for yourself to decide it Superintendent Reykdal was wronged in any way and as always, let us know what you think in the comments below.