(NAME-MCE) Testing to look at gap in students' learning

[Rebecca Roisman]

Dear Fellow Colleagues,

It is alarming when statements such as
"Reach success levels similar to its white population" are used.
The work I examined in my doctoral study "Resiliency through a strengths
base lens shows that all students have strengths. To promote the idea
that the standard is another group denies individuality.
I believe educators want to make a difference and facilitate an
environment that will empower all students to be successful. The process
used to access excellence is very important.

Thank you,
Rebecca roisman  

Dr. Rebecca Roisman
Student Services Coordinator
S.H.S / Sugar River Valley Technical Center
(603) 543-4291 ext 225

-----Original Message-----
From: name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org [mailto:name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org]
On Behalf Of Anselmo Villanueva
Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 4:02 PM
To: name-mce at nameorg.org
Subject: (NAME-MCE) Testing to look at gap in students' learning



Testing to look at gap in students' learning

By Dave Aeikens * daeikens at stcloudtimes.com * September 17, 2009

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20090917/NEWS01/109170031/1009/Testing-to
-look-at-gap-in-students--learning

Kindergartners in three St. Cloud schools with growing minority
populations
will take math and reading tests this year to help the school district
get a
better handle on a success gap between white and minority students.

The tests at Discovery Community, Talahi Community and Madison
Elementary
schools will be paid for with a $5,000 grant from Create CommUNITY, a
group
working to improve racial harmony in St. Cloud.

"If we can follow them from kindergarten, it will show us a pattern of
what
intervention needs to happen," said Hedy Tripp, coordinator for Create
CommUNITY.

St. Cloud school district has about a 23 precent minority population. It
has
struggled to get its minority students, many of them new to the United
States and English, to reach success levels similar to its white
population.
In 2008-09, white students are passing the Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessment reading tests at a rate 41 percentage points higher than
black
students and by 39 percentage points higher in math.

"We've got to get the black students to catch up, absolutely, that is
our
goal," said Julia Espe, director of curriculum, instruction and
assessment
for St. Cloud school district.

St. Cloud is already testing students in grades two through nine three
times
a year using tests called Measures of Academic Progress.

Many school districts including Sartell-St. Stephen and Sauk Rapids-Rice
use
the MAP. St. Cloud used federal stimulus dollars to pay for the tests
for
those grades.

Some older students already have taken the first round of computerized
tests. Staff use the results to follow student progress in reading and
math
and adjust and change curriculum and individual instruction to better
meet
the needs of the students.

Kindergarten classes will take the tests later at Madison and will get
some
instruction on taking what might be their first test in school, Madison
Principal Paula Henry said.

"We want to do the very, very best we can for every child. That test
will
help us see where each student is. It gives us excellent data," Henry
said.

The grant will allow St. Cloud school district to start evaluating
students
in three of its eight elementary schools two years sooner and begin
developing a base of information."I'm looking forward to having access
to
this data. It will help us not only in long-range planning, it will help
us
look where students are so we can help them earlier," Espe said.
_______________________________________________
This is a mailing of the National Association for Multicultural
Education -
(NAME) Listserv list - www.nameorg.org. The materials included reflect
diverse perspectives of NAME Listserv participants and do not
necessarily reflect a position of the National Association for
Multicultural Education. If you would like to subscribe (or
unsubscribe)to this listserv go to
http://mail.nameorg.org/mailman/listinfo/name-mce_nameorg.org. You can
read all past postings in the archives at
http://mail.nameorg.org/pipermail/name-mce_nameorg.org/



Name-mce mailing list
Name-mce at nameorg.org
http://mail.nameorg.org/mailman/listinfo/name-mce_nameorg.org