skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Testing, Testing – Is This Assessment On the Mark?

play audio
Play

Monday, March 24, 2014   

BURLINGTON, Mass. - Pupils in all schools in Burlington and four schools in Revere will be taking a test this spring in which the test itself will be under the magnifying glass. It's a field test of a computer-based system known as PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) which was designed by a consortium of states to assess student learning under the Common Core standards.

According to Diana Marcus, who teaches fifth grade in Burlington, the test will not be an additional one for pupils this year, nor will they be evaluated on it.

"Not this year. Not this year, because we're still testing the tests so that we can hopefully create - they're attempting to create - valid and reliable test items."

Some Burlington schoolkids will be using iPads to take the online test. In Revere, some will take the exams on paper. The effect of differing technology, district-to-district, will be looked at as well.

Mariregis Fusco, president of the Revere Teachers Association, said her district does not yet have all its pupils working on computer tablets.

"We're very worried about communities that may not have the technology to handle PARCC in the way we've been told it's going to be done," she said. "If there are some communities that do it by - let's say the kids hand-complete it - and other communities that do it through technology, is that a fair basis?"

Diana Marcus said 3,000 Burlington pupils will be doing the field testing.

"No decision has been made yet that PARCC is going to be the test of choice," she pointed out. "The MTA has been very active in saying that they want to have a good understanding of the PARCC and how it is going to be used and what its potentials are."

All told, about 8 percent of Massachusetts pupils will be the "guinea pigs." Some one million schoolchildren in PARCC states will do the field testing this spring.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021