Re: State Superintendent on Final Budget Agreement -- Grade 2 Testing

["Kristen Lombardo" <kristengrace@sbcglobal.net>]

so that's a yes we are still testing in grade 2?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Farruggio" <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>
To: <ca-resisters@interversity.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 10:51 PM
Subject: Re: [ca-resisters] State Superintendent on Final Budget
Agreement -- Grade 2 Testing



What ever happened to that proposal of a few
years ago to begin testing in the womb?  Makes
sense to establish a real baseline, no?


At 10:29 PM 8/22/2007, you wrote:
>George--
>How discouraging!  It's really unbelievable how these guys are perpetuating
>institutionalized child abuse.
>
>Thank you for staying in there and advocating tirelessly for these young
>kids, George!!
>
>Marilyn
>
> > From: George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>
> > Reply-To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> > Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:02:27 -0700
> > To: ca-resisters@serv1.ncte.org,<ca-resisters@interversity.org>
> > Subject: [ca-resisters] State Superintendent on Final Budget
Agreement --
> > Grade 2 Testing
> >
> > Fabian Núñez and Dom Perata gave Arnold
> Schwarzenegger and Jack O'Connell what
> > they wanted.
> >
> > Although second grade STAR testing ended on
> June 31st, and although bills to
> > revive it died in both houses of the legislature this year, and although
it
> > was
> > not approved by the fiscal committees in either house, funding for the
test
> > was
> > reinstated in the budget deal.
> >
> >
> >
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
> >
> > SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O'CONNELL COMMENTS ON PASSAGE OF FINAL BUDGET
AGREEMENT
> >
> > SACRAMENTO - State Superintendent of Public
> Instruction Jack O'Connell today
> > issued the following statement regarding
> legislative approval of a budget for
> > fiscal year 2007-08:
> >
> > "On behalf of all Californians who have been
> impacted by the protracted budget
> > stalemate, I'm relieved that the Legislature
> has finally approved a balanced
> > budget plan. I applaud the Legislature for approving a spending plan
that
> > meets
> > the minimum Proposition 98 guarantee and
> provides cost-of-living adjustments
> > for
> > our public school operations. This level of
> funding for public education will
> > allow our schools to maintain ongoing efforts
> to improve student achievement.
> >
> > "I am pleased that the budget bill includes funding to continue the
> > Standardized
> > Testing and Reporting or STAR program for students in second grade. This
> > assessment program is an important part of
> our system of school accountability
> > and our efforts to ensure that students don't
> fall behind in the early grades.
> >
> > "I am very disappointed, however, that the Legislature did not make it a
> > priority
> > to support local districts in collecting and maintaining the quality
> > individual
> > student data that our state needs to track
> graduation and dropout rates and to
> > better measure student performance over time.
> School district participation in
> > CALPADS, the state's developing longitudinal
> student data tracking system, is
> > critical to informed decision making. Funding for local data collection
and
> > maintenance is vital to improve the accuracy of student data used to
assess
> > education programs and target our state's
> resources most effectively. I will
> > continue to pursue this funding with the
> Governor and the Legislature in the
> > coming year.
> >
> > "I also will continue discussions with my fellow policymakers about how
we
> > provide adequate funding for our schools so we can prepare all students
to
> > compete in the challenging and competitive global economy. Closing the
> > achievement gap between students who are
> white and their peers who are African
> > American or Latino is the most important part
> of this effort. I look forward
> > to
> > working with the Governor and Legislature to
> find ways to ensure our schools
> > are
> > up to this challenge. Doing so is essential to both our students' and
our
> > state's
> > long-term economic success."
> >
> > "Unfortunately, the delay in passing a budget caused a huge imposition
for
> > many
> > of California businesses that provide
> services to our state's most vulnerable
> > citizens. State-funded childcare centers, for example, faced tremendous
> > financial
> > strain as state funding was put on hold
> during the budget fight. Many of the
> > individuals who operate these state-funded centers serving 500,000
children
> > had
> > to seek high-interest loans to keep their
> doors open during the last 51 days.
> > I
> > appreciate these centers' commitment to
> provide child care services and hope
> > that
> > outstanding payments are quickly made to these centers and other
businesses
> > and
> > individuals relying on state funding."
> >
> > George Sheridan
> > ----------------------------------------------------------
> > Direct questions about the list to listmom@interversity.net
>
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