Friday Open Thread
Our spring surprise - snow. But thank goodness it is not going to stick and make Friday traffic even worse.
Heart-warming news for Arbor Heights via the West Seattle Herald.
Kind of a Friday Funny. I was at the Board meeting this week and the Salmon Bay Marimba band played (very well and with great energy). But, of course, the Pledge of Allegiance is always said before anything else and everyone was asked to stand. I looked over at the kids and they looked panic-stricken. One mom with them whispered to them, "Do you know it?" and they shook their heads. I smiled, thinking they were joking. Nope, most of them were not saying it with the rest of the crowd. There's a generation gap for you. (I make no judgments here as I don't care whether they know it or not.)
What's on your mind?
Heart-warming news for Arbor Heights via the West Seattle Herald.
Kind of a Friday Funny. I was at the Board meeting this week and the Salmon Bay Marimba band played (very well and with great energy). But, of course, the Pledge of Allegiance is always said before anything else and everyone was asked to stand. I looked over at the kids and they looked panic-stricken. One mom with them whispered to them, "Do you know it?" and they shook their heads. I smiled, thinking they were joking. Nope, most of them were not saying it with the rest of the crowd. There's a generation gap for you. (I make no judgments here as I don't care whether they know it or not.)
What's on your mind?
Comments
"We have had an amazing past month. We have held 4 daytime and 2 evening tours, and saw more people come through the doors than ever. This year we saw many new middle school parents and students looking for a program that would be a good fit for their children. Although we were projected to only have 3 classes (cores) of 6th graders next year, we anticipate we’ll have 5 to 6 groups joining us. We also saw quite a few incoming Kindergartners, and their main concerns tend to be whether they can even get in at this point. "
Ben
March 22, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Seattle schools relaxes requirements for MAP tests
Posted by Linda Shaw
Seattle school leaders have decided to relax a few requirements for the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) this spring, the exams that are the focus of a teacher boycott that has received national attention.
Ninth-graders who have passed the state’s reading exam will not have to take the MAP reading test, too, officials announced at a meeting Thursday.
Officials also are recommending that high schools use the MAP’s algebra test for students enrolled in algebra classes, rather than a more general math test that’s been required in the past.
(story continues)
What is the process at work here? Who decides and what is the basis for their decisions? It's all cloaked in secrecy. There's no transparency at all.
If they were going to make this decision, why didn't they make it during the boycott?
http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2013/03/the-new-yorker-on-garfield-high-schools-map-protest-its-about-whether-we-trust-teachers/
He does NOT support this bill. He supports the concept in general but the criteria in this bill is too vague.
I'll let his office know this is still going on because they told me they had asked a number of these groups to stop linking his basic support with ANY actual bill.
SB 5328 has already passed the Senate and is now being considered by the House. Governor Inslee supports giving letter grades to schools as a way to inform parents. Washington Policy Center recently reported on how a letter-grade system would work. To find your school’s grade, see the latest Achievement Index results.
Ninth-graders who have passed the state’s reading exam will not have to take the MAP reading test, too, officials announced at a meeting Thursday.
Officials also are recommending that high schools use the MAP’s algebra test for students enrolled in algebra classes, rather than a more general math test that’s been required in the past.
I'm trying to parse out what this really means. The "state test" is the HSPE, but (from what I have experienced) HSPE scores aren't available until long after the Spring MAP, so do they mean if the 9th graders passed the 8th grade state test, or are they talking about some other "state test?"
What is the "MAP's algebra test?" I thought that was part of the issue, 9th graders taking algebra get questions about geometry, probability and algebra II on the math MAP. Are they talking about buying another exam MAP markets and subbing it for the state EOC exam in algebra? Have they cleared that with the state?
I feel like there is something wrong with this report.
Even if you're not interested enough to join the ANCEA and attend the event, you can come into the public areas of the convention center and see all of the folks in costume at no cost. Friday and Saturday should be your best days for checking out the cosplays. You will see folks wearing some amazing costumes - it's definitely worth a gander.
And who knows? Maybe next year you'll be one of them.