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S'no JokeDate Thursday, April 17 @ 20:59:56 Topic School-Public  Thousands of fourth-graders in Boston will be re-taking the state’s standardized MCAS test because a question involving snow days on the original was perceived as culturally biased against kids from warmer climates who have never seen snow, reports the New York Times. Wilfredo T. Laboy, superintendent of the predominantly Spanish-speaking Lawrence district, said: "I believe it is culturally biased. For kids from Santo Domingo, Southeast Asia or other warm climates, what do they say about snow?" The URL for this story is:http://www.gohotsprings.com/school/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=174

<p>Eight versions of the Stryker infantry carrier are to be evaluated at Fort Knox.</p> <p>FORT KNOX, Ky. -- A new generation of light armored vehicles will soon be rumbling across Fort Knox's rolling terrain as the Army transforms itself into a more mobile fighting force.</p>

OSTON, April 16 — Many fourth graders at Hernandez Elementary School here do not remember what they did on their last snow day, which was two years ago. Others like Gabriel Prado, 10, remember just the painful parts, like being hit by a snowball thrown by his older brother.Although the students cross their fingers and hope for the big morning announcement every time the sky becomes gray, two years, they say, is a long time to think back on their last lucky break. And that has become a problem for the students, who have to retake part of the state's...

Caddo probes alleged testing violations Melody Brumble / The Times Posted on April 16, 2003 Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle School Principal Albert Hardison is on leave while Caddo school officials investigate alleged standardized test security violations. Officials learned of the possible problem March 9, the Sunday before testing, and sent monitors to ensure nothing inappropriate occurred to void student scores, said Marlene Ritter, Caddo schools general education director. Now officials are looking into what led to the allegations. "We are not now considering voiding the tests of a single (Walnut Hill) student. If we void tests, it will be for the...

Model school cheated, officials say Test scandal ousts Caldwell principal By Aimee Edmondson edmondson@gomemphis.com March 13, 2003 Caldwell Elementary was a shining star in the troubled Memphis city school system, working academic wonders in a tough environment. But school officials say much of Caldwell's success was a sham, and widely lauded principal Lirah Sabir has retired amid allegations she cheated to boost test scores. Sabir excluded the weakest students on test days, answer sheets were doctored and monitors were banned from the classroom, school officials say. Educators say the case illustrates the dark side of the nation's intense focus on...

Just how tough is the FCAT? Sun-Sentinel Ever wonder just how tough the dreaded FCAT really is? To give you a glimpse of what your child needs to know, the Florida Department of Education has assembled a collection of sample tests that you can browse -- or take, if you dare.... To see the sample FCAT questions and answer links for reading, math and science in grades 3-10, scroll down to the end of the article after clicking here.

The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education. -- Plutarch A major education bill signed on Jan. 8, 2002, by President Bush is about to create havoc across the land. The No Child Left Behind Act is the most sweeping reform since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was enacted in 1965. The No Child Left Behind Act redefines the federal role in K-12 education and aims to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their more privileged peers. It has several basic principles that conservatives like: stronger accountability for results, increased...

Lead Levels Linked to Male Infertility MANHASSET, New York, February 6, 2003 (ENS) - Fertility experts today published the first conclusive evidence that lead is linked to male infertility. A report a European medicine journal, "Human Reproduction," concludes that exposure to lead damages sperm function and may be one cause of unexplained male infertility cases. The findings have led principal investigator Dr. Susan Benoff to urge doctors to measure lead in semen samples when evaluating men from couples with unexplained fertility. She said she also believes there is a case for health and safety authorities to continue reevaluating environmental...

TRAVERSE CITY - At a copy shop recently, LaVern Broughton was busy making copies of a recall petition he had drafted when another customer noticed it and asked him what it was.Broughton planned to circulate a petition in Grand Traverse, Antrim and Leelanau counties requesting an election to recall embattled District Judge Thomas Gilbert, he told the man."When he seen what it was, he wanted to sign it right away," Broughton said.But Broughton's plan was destined to fail even before it had begun.With a little more research, Broughton learned that judges - even though they are elected officials - cannot...

From Japan (based on Kyodo News reports in Japanese from Beijing, China), report on statement by North Korean Ambassador to China regarding additional threats toward the United States, this time on resumption of missile testing and launch (photo, above, of DPRK Ambassador to China Che Jin Su, making provocative threat on Saturday at press conference).Synopsis from Japanese text by AIT:DPRK Ambassador to China Mr. Che Jin Su States: "We Will Now Resume Missile Launches, and Further, We Will Take Nuclear Measures On Our Own to Protect Against US Nuclear Threats"Ambassador to China from North Korea Che Jin Su gave...

test

Educators from nearly a dozen local districts, along with others statewide, are awaiting results from a second round of state teacher tests, but the controversial program soon might be kicked out of school. Former Gov. Tom Ridge had hoped to test the state's 125,000 teachers in mathematics and reading over the next five years under the initiative launched in the fall of 2001. But the future of the Professional Development Assistance Program looks shaky with Democratic Gov.-elect Ed Rendell set to take office Jan. 21. Critics of the program — including the state teachers unions, which poured more than $400,000...

Pub and club revelers face a drugs test as soon as they enter the premises. Anyone going into a bar, whether they arouse suspicion or not, will be asked to take a swab test, which highlights any drug use. The scheme is being run by police in south Staffordshire and will initially cover the towns of Cannock and Stafford. Police have warned that anyone refusing will automatically arouse suspicion and have told establishments that do not co-operate that it will be held against them when their licenses come up for renewal. Liberty, the civil rights pressure group, said it...

From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk Published 12/26/2002 1:35 PM HIGHLANDS, N.C., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Congressman Billybob Sez: Ignorance in America This here's the 330th Report ta the Folks Back Home from the (More er Less) Honorable Billybob, cyberCongressman from Western Carolina. I still remembers the one-room school house I attended, where Miss McGillicuddy taught us a love ov book-larnin in partic'lar, n ov the rich panoply ov life in gen'ral. Mos ov all, she taught us what education don stop when the las school bell rings. It's a lifelong pursuit. But ma able assistant, J. Armor, Esq.,...

THE former head of the government agency responsible for controlling diseases in Britain is calling for medical tests for immigrants before they are allowed into the country. Lord Turnberg, who retired as chairman of the Public Health Laboratory Service in July, said that the measures were needed to combat the spread of tuberculosis and HIV, where the recent surge in cases is largely the result of increased immigration from countries with high levels of the infections. His call reflects growing concern in the medical profession that the NHS is being overstretched by the cost of treating imported illnesses, which...

<p>WASHINGTON — Thousands of people on O'ahu were exposed to biological material during Cold War-era government experiments, Defense Department officials said yesterday.</p> <p>The material was supposed to be harmless, but the government has acknowledged that people with weakened immune systems could have become sick. Military officials also revealed for the first time that deadly chemical agents, including the nerve agents sarin and VX, were tested on the Big Island, but they insisted that no civilians were exposed.</p>

North tested missile parts in Iran, Egypt, U.S. aide says by Kim Min-seok August 30, 2002 North Korea has tested core parts of ballistic missiles in Iran and Egypt, a senior official of the U.S. Department of State, who is visiting South Korea, said Friday. "It has been confirmed that North Korea sent its missile technicians to Iran and Egypt to conduct experiments on core parts of the missile over several occasions," the official said. Experiments were conducted on parts produced by North Korea alone and jointly with Iran and Egypt, the official said. Most of the overseas experiments are...

How can a school receive a Blue Ribbon for excellence one year and be slapped with a label of "failing" the next? Moreover, how can Michigan rank dead last in the country with more than 1,500 "failing" schools? New federal labels are misleading parents and others into thinking that a full one-third of the state's public schools aren't adequately serving their children. That's simply not the case. The standards are the newest ingredient in a muddled stew of numbers and labels that do nothing for the quality of schools in Michigan or the students and teachers in them. In fact,...

OTTAWA -- Federally regulated companies and public services must not randomly test or prescreen employees for drug and alcohol use, the federal human-rights watchdog says. The Canadian Human Rights Commission released a new policy yesterday that says employee drug tests are an abuse of human rights under almost all circumstances. "Positive results of drug tests do not suggest a person is impaired," commission spokeswoman Catherine Barratt said. "If you want to test for a safe environment, testing for drugs is not going to get you there." That's because tests can show traces of drugs weeks after they were used, long...

July 5, 2002 The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) has been used by colleges for many years to predict the success of students in college. Colleges have found SATs to be an effective tool in measuring college aptitude, that is, the ability to do college work. Since colleges are interested in admitting those students who will be successful in post-secondary work, the SAT has been one of the most widely used college aptitude tests in the nation. An aptitude test is different from an achievement test. An achievement test looks at what a student has accomplished. An aptitude test tries to...