Holly Koon struggles every day in her ninth grade biology classes to help students achieve, but sometimes it seems like a losing battle. Chronic absenteeism, growing class sizes and fewer classroom helpers all get in the way of student learning, she said.
“All students can absolutely learn, and they can learn to standard,” she said. “I have a biology class right now with 36 students in it; I have one instructional aid. How do you — in 60 minutes a day — individualize and support all 36 students?”
Koon’s question is one that echoes across Olympia this Legislative session as Democrats and Republicans debate how to spend dollars dedicated to education. Fueling that discussion is a national assessment that shows 71% of Washington eighth graders are not proficient in math, compared to 58% in 2013…