Board Of Education Revamps Student Testing
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Working off the suggestions of teachers and school officials, the State Board of Education Thursday approved a host of changes to the testing system used to measure students’ skills.
Houston served as the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing and Accountability - Education Journal a special panel of educators, superintendents, principals and lawmakers charged [...]
Alternative Education To Get Boost
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Baltimore school administrators unveiled a plan yesterday to reduce violence and the dropout rate by overhauling alternative education, nearly doubling the number of alternative school slots by August and creating morning and evening programs for working students.
The plan calls for the creation of two new alternative schools and the redesign of existing alternative schools, where [...]
Illinois 8th graders earn high marks on writing test
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“I think that this is some very good news for Illinois, especially when you look at how we fare against the bigger states,” said Matt Vanover, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education.
The NAEP writing test was administered in 2007 to a sampling of students including 139,900 8th graders and 27,900 12th graders.
In [...]
Struggling Asians go unnoticed
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But Thana is struggling with her schoolwork, especially reading. Her four older siblings never graduated from high school, and now the 17-year-old is fighting to avoid the same fate.
“I’ve been here, like, ever since I was born, but I’m not really fluent with language,” said Thana, a slight girl with black hair and plastic frame [...]
Wanted A few bad teachers
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Buying off bad teachers is part of his effort to improve education, Berman said.
“What I really want to do is jump-start a conversation,” Berman said. “There are lots of kids who can’t read or do math and are well behind in science. … I’ve interviewed teachers who say their colleagues are not competent to teach [...]
Spencer session targets hogs education
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With the legislative session drawing to a close, just three issues — hog confinement, education, and collective bargaining — dominated Saturday’s discussion with area legislators in Spencer.
Even with a standing-room-only crowd of about 75 area residents packing the Spencer City Council chambers, the area’s three Republican legislators saw a relatively calm session with constituents, as [...]
Arts education described as vital: State work force needs creativity
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Wisconsin needs to cultivate an innovative, entrepreneurial work force, and arts education is the key, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton said Friday.
A new task force on arts and creativity, co-chaired by Lawton and state schools Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster, plans to survey arts offerings in Wisconsin schools, hold public hearings around the state, and issue a list [...]
MarengoUnion District 165 superintendent resigns
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The board also agreed Tuesday to eliminate the position of assistant superintendent and an assistant principal%26#8212;cuts expected to trim about $125,000%26#8211;%26#8211;or 20 percent%26#8211;%26#8211;of the district’s administrative costs, said school board president Dave Martin.
Those money-saving steps were in addition to cutting 19 teaching positions. “I don’t think any of this would have happened without the [...]
Schools to catch a break on No Child standards
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Under a plan unveiled by U.S. Sec. of Education Margaret Spellings, states would be allowed to differentiate how they label%26#8212;and punish%26#8212;schools, based on the degree to which a given school fails to meet No Child Left Behind standards. A school that missed only one achievement target, for example, could get a more favorable label and [...]
Mundelein district challenges state over bilingual education
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The State Board of Education initially lauded Diamond Lake for the academic gains made by its bilingual pupils, then discovered the change in how the district was teaching them and suspended funding, said Supt. Roger Prosise.
“I’m not saying bilingual education doesn’t work,” Prosise said. “What I’m saying is, if another program [...]
