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Thursday, February 28, 2008

02/28/08 - Greenwich Children Left Behind


District wary of science test


Greenwich Time - Staff Writer

Greenwich educators are anxious about the outcome of the upcoming state standardized tests that will include a science portion for the first time.

Why are our Greenwich School Administrators "Anxious" about a State Standardised Science Test?

Could it be that the Greenwich School Administrators have failed to properly educate Greenwich Children?

The Connecticut Mastery Tests, given each March to students in third through eighth grades, assess math and reading skills and knowledge. The results are used to benchmark each school's annual academic progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Why are the very high paid Greenwich School Administrators having trouble meeting the very basic "No Child Left Behind" standards in the wealthiest town in the wealthiest state in the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth?

The inclusion this year of a science portion will test fifth- and eighth-graders on their knowledge of grade-level content and their understanding of how a science experiment is designed.

What's The Big Fat Deal About A Basic Science Test!!!

Personally, I was born in the "hills and the hollars" of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and by the eighth grade I understood the scientific method and was able to present a controlled science project at a science fair.

Superintendent of Schools Betty Sternberg has cautioned the Board of Education that this year's science results will likely not be impressive.....

The Extremely High Paid Ms. Sternberg was not in Greenwich about 15 years ago when a national news magazines ranked Greenwich High School as one of the Top Ten High Schools In America, but many Greenwich Residents remember.

...Truxtun Southworth, the program administrator for science and math, said he wished the state would have given earlier guidance on exactly what the students will see on the test. That was not done until recently.

What is going on here?

Is a high paid administrator like Truxton Southworth teaching our children?

Is Truxton Southworth in charge of teaching basic science and mathematics, or on how to cram for a basic standardised test that measures the minimal proficiency?

Greenwich, like other districts, focuses a lot of class time on literacy and math, but not nearly as much on science, which may affect test scores this year, Southworth said.

What other districts are we talking about?

Darien, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Westport, and Wilton?

Or are we talking about....

Bridgeport, Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford?

"The ones that haven't had the spotlight on them some time drift to the back," Southworth said....

Duh!!!

...Kathy Greider, deputy superintendent of teaching and learning said it may be difficult to decipher if students who do poorly on the science portion are having trouble with science, or if in actuality they are poor readers or poor at math.

Well maybe we should conduct a $100,000.00 study?

Or maybe, we could just start teaching our elementry children basic science principals.

...Science isn't the only area educators have an eye on this year. Greenwich had poor districtwide results last year on test questions gauging a student's ability to make connections from the reading material to their own life....

No wonder, that Greenwich High School is no longer listed as one of the Top Ten High Schools In America.

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