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My tax dollars PAID for an email influencing a vote?

My tax dollars,  PAID ,email influencing a vote, Full-day Kindergarten

Am I seeing things? Or did I just receive an email from my school essentially TELLING me to vote in favor of full day kindergarten?
My tax dollars PAID for an email influencing a vote? That I was already told at back to school night that if it does not pass, mandatory tuition based full day K would be implemented. Which is false last I checked.
Last I checked sending emails like this is actually a violation. It is unethical at LEAST. Our school administration should not have any influence, sway, or opinion on election matters and I will be bringing this to the attention of the state board of elections and any ethics board that could possibly be interested. And NOW I’ll be using my voice to make sure that anyone and everyone I can reach knows I will be voting NO to full day K, and I have a list of reasons why they should as well.
I unequivocally demand an follow-up email be sent to the parents informing them that this is a CHOICE and a tax increase is attached. And that we have already got one of the most expensive school budgets in the state. Find room in THAT budget, or take it off the table. Enough is enough.
This has gone far enough. When my high schooler can attend a full day of classes with all of his teachers in attendance and not one single “free period” because there is not a sub to be found, ask me for more money a school budget.
You all are educated, intelligent, well-paid individuals. I suspect you are qualified to implement and work within a budget. With all the free time you have now that the teacher contracts have been “settled”, go back to the drawing board, take a serious look at your astronomical budget, and find the solution you want.
Sincerely,
Melanie McWilliams

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The Nation’s Report Card Shows Higher Percentages of 4th- and 8th-Graders Reached Proficient Level in Science in 2015 Than in 2009

super_sciencesaturday_theridgewoodblog

October 28,2016

by the
National Assessment Governing Board

Ridgewood NJ,  The Nation’s Report Card: 2015 Science shows scores have improved overall, and higher percentages of the nation’s fourth- and eighth-grade students demonstrated mastery of science on the 2015 assessment compared with the 2009 assessment. The results also show score gaps narrowing by race/ethnicity. The average score of 12th-grade students did not change between 2009 and 2015.

In 2015, 22 percent of 12th-graders performed at or above the Proficient achievement level, which denotes competency over challenging subject matter. Additionally, 38 percent of fourth-graders and 34 percent of eighth-graders performed at or aboveProficient — an increase of 4 percentage points at both grades compared with 2009.

“Seeing these gains in science from our fourth- and eighth-graders makes me hopeful about the future of our nation’s students,” said former Wyoming Gov. James Geringer, director of policy and public sector strategies at the Environmental Systems Research Institute and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for NAEP. “But that progress needs to continue since only about one-third of students, or even fewer, have the science skills they need.”

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — known as The Nation’s Report Card — is the largest nationally representative, continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subjects. The 2015 science assessment measured students’ knowledge of physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences. The assessment also measured how well students implement science practices, like using scientific principles and engaging in scientific inquiry.

National science results are available for students at grades four, eight, and 12; state-level results are available at grades four and eight.

National highlights include:

Performance Improves at Grades Four and Eight

At grades four and eight, students scored higher in 2015 than in 2009 in all three science content areas: physical science, life science, and Earth and space sciences.
From 2009 to 2015, the percentage of students performing below the Basic achievement level decreased by 4 percentage points at grades four and eight.

Score Gaps Narrow by Race and Gender at Grades Four and Eight

The score gaps between black and white students and between Hispanic and white students at both grades four and eight have narrowed since 2009.
In 2015, fourth-grade male students scored about the same as fourth-grade female students, eliminating the gender difference.
At grade eight, male students scored higher than female students, but the difference between their scores in 2015 was smaller than the difference between their scores in 2011 (3 points versus 5 points).
At grade 12, male students outperformed female students by 5 points. The gap between their scores in 2015 was not statistically different from the 2009 gap.

State highlights include:

Some Sizable Gains Made at Grades Four and Eight

Between 2009 and 2015, scores at both grades rose in 15 states and jurisdictions: Arizona, Arkansas, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming. Of these, DoDEA schools, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming had a percentage of students performing at or above Proficient that was greater than the average percentage for national public schools in 2015.
From 2009 to 2015, four states and jurisdictions showed score gains at grade four that were larger than the national average score gain: Arizona, DoDEA schools, Georgia and Tennessee. At grade eight, three states had this distinction: Nevada, Tennesseeand Utah.

Score Gaps Narrow and Close by Race and Gender

The following states saw a statistically significant narrowing of average score gaps between black and white students from 2009 to 2015: Arkansas (a decline of 10 points), Oklahoma (8.9) and Tennessee (8.6) at grade four; and Illinois (7.8) at grade eight.
The following states saw a statistically significant narrowing of the average score gap between Hispanic and white students from 2009 to 2015: Massachusetts (a decline of 8.7 points), Connecticut (8.2), Illinois (6.7) and Nevada (5.9) at grade four; and New York (8.9), Illinois (7.4), Connecticut (7.1), Wyoming (6.9) and Arizona (5.6) at grade eight.
For fourth grade, several states closed the average score gap by gender — meaning statistically significant score differences between female and male students were found in 2009 but not in 2015 — specifically, Hawaii (a decline of 4.2 points), Maine(3.5), North Carolina (2.4), South Dakota (2.4) and Ohio (1.8).
The gender score gap closed at grade 8 in Wyoming (a decline of 6.5 points), Rhode Island (6.4), New Mexico (4.8), Georgia (4.6), and Montana (4.0), and in 13 other states.

Tennessee stands out as a state that showed large score gains at grades four and eight and narrowed score gaps between black and white fourth-graders from 2009 to 2015, and its students are outperforming the nation (public schools) at grades four and eight.

“We’ve set high expectations across the board for our students in Tennessee, and our NAEP performance continues to reflect the hard work and progress our students and teachers are making,” said Candice McQueen, Tennessee commissioner of education. “To me, the most encouraging part of today’s science results is that all of Tennessee’s students are showing what is possible. We’ve narrowed or eliminated gaps between groups of students, and we are continuing to make huge strides in where we have been historically to build a new future for our children.”

Emphasizing science in and outside of the classroom is tied to student performance in the subject, as shown in data collected through NAEP student and teacher questionnaires about educational experiences. Overall, students with more exposure to science scored better on the 2015 science assessment than students with less exposure:

Eighth-graders who participate in hands-on activities or investigations in science class every day or almost every day, as reported by their teachers, scored 12 points higher than students who never or hardly ever engage in these activities.
Eighth-grade students who self-reported that they have visited a museum, zoo or aquarium to learn about science outside of a school trip scored 7 points higher than students who have not participated in those activities outside of school.
Students who have teachers with access to school-provided scientific tools for teaching science — such as telescopes, microscopes and thermometers — also scored higher. Eighth-graders whose teachers reported the highest level of access to these tools scored 16 points higher than eighth-graders whose teachers reported no access. Twelfth-graders who reported having access to such tools scored 37 points higher than 12th-graders without access.

“Students who have more opportunities to dig in deep and fully engage do better in science,” said Missouri science teacher Susan German, a panelist at the Oct. 27 event announcing the NAEP results. “They should be spending less time buried in a textbook and more time doing hands-on activities, such as investigating which insulator works best in keeping soda cold or how height and mass influence the size of impact craters. Parents should do as much as they can to expose their children to science outside of the classroom too — even if it’s as simple as taking them on a walk through a park.”

About the Assessment

The 2015 science assessment was conducted in grades four, eight and 12 and reported at the national level for each. State-level results for grades four and eight are available for 46 states and U.S. Department of Defense schools that voluntarily participated in the assessment. (Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Louisiana and Pennsylvania did not have the necessary sample size in 2015 for state-level results to be reported.) For grades four and eight, national results reflect the scores of both public and private school students, while state-level results reflect the scores of public school students only.

NAEP performance results are presented as average scale scores and as achievement levels, reported as the percentages of students performing at or above Basic, Proficient and Advanced. Basic denotes partial mastery of the subject, Proficient denotes competency over challenging subject matter and Advanced represents superior work. Scale scores range from 0 to 300. Because NAEP scores and achievement levels are developed independently for each subject, results cannot be compared across subjects. Performance results also cannot be compared with data from before 2009, when the new science framework was introduced. The last assessment for fourth- and 12th-graders took place in 2009, and the last assessment for eighth-graders was administered in 2011.

Check out this video illustrating NAEP data to see how science education can translate into a related career path.

See the full report card here.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is the largest nationally representative, continuing evaluation of the condition of education in the United States. It has served as a national yardstick of student achievement since 1969. Through The Nation’s Report Card, NAEP informs the public about what American students know and can do in various subject areas and compares achievement among states, large urban districts and various student demographic groups. The National Assessment Governing Board oversees and sets policy for NAEP. Follow NAEP on Facebook and Twitter.

NAEP is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The commissioner of education statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project.

The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, nonpartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives and members of the general public. Congress created the 26-member Governing Board in 1988 to oversee and set policy for NAEP. Follow the Governing Board on Facebook and Twitter.

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Why are we so angry, politically?

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“if your not angry ,your not paying attention” Joel Winton 

October 12, 2015, 06:00 am
By Chris Spatola, contributor

Over the last several months, Donald Trump has insulted Mexicans, insulted POWs, insulted women, insulted his fellow candidates and insulted the media; and that’s only to name a few of his targets.

Ben Carson has said he does not want a Muslim in the White House because Muslims cannot be trusted. “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” Carson said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” in September. “I absolutely would not agree with that.” Carson does not believe that Islam is “consistent with the Constitution.”

In this election phase, we have elevated the cruelest, most divisive and least qualified candidates to the top of Republican polls. In the case of Trump and Carson, we have branded their misogyny, xenophobia and volatility as “refreshing.”

I’m sorry, but there is something wrong with a country that is so angry at the Washington “establishment” that it finds these two candidates, and their impertinent behavior, refreshing.

How has name-calling become a winning campaign strategy? Why are we so angry?

The answer to these questions begins with how divided we are. The number of Americans who express consistently conservative or consistently liberal, opinions has doubled over the last two decades, according to a Pew Research poll conducted last year; while the center —  people who express an equal number of conservative and liberal opinions — has shrunk.

We have become ideologically tribal in this country. We are much more comfortable basking in our sociopolitical super-zones — Fox News, MSNBC, left- and right-wing blogs — that create content to promote, and placate, our own biases. The proliferation of media, and the sensationalism in which most of these 24-hour outlets now traffic, have made it easy to cloak ourselves in dialogues that are frighteningly fanatical.

The presumption 20 years ago was that the Internet and emerging technologies would give a voice to a large percentage of the population that had never had one. The world would become more connected, citizens more engaged and proactive. What we have discovered in a more connected world, however, is that there are a lot of different people out there and a lot of different opinions. The proliferation of media has amplified this diversity of opinion; but in a counterproductive way, has also made it easier for like-minded people to coalesce, mingle and entrench themselves ideologically. As discontent with the government’s role in our lives grows, these predisposed outlets, which are inherently void of compromise and nuance, foment that discontent rather than soothe it. The Internet and, to a large extent, cable television have become riotous free-for-alls laying waste to the idea of a civil, balanced discourse.

The one thing a great majority of Americans can agree on, regardless of party, is that they are angry. They feel like they’re being ripped off, marginalized and underrepresented; and they feel like an epically unproductive Washington doesn’t care

https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/256632-why-are-we-so-angry-politically

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Ted Cruz takes on the New York Times say produce evidence or issue a Formal Apology

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NEW YORK TIMES IS LYING: CRUZ CAMPAIGN CALLS ON THE TIMES TO RELEASE THEIR EVIDENCE OR ISSUE A FORMAL APOLOGY

07/10/15

HOUSTON, Texas — Yesterday, news broke that the New York Timeshad omitted Cruz’s best-selling book A Time for Truth from their best-seller list.

Bookscan, a subscription service that tracks the vast majority of book sales in America, is usually a reliable indicator of the New York Timesbestseller list. For example, this week’s #1 and #2 books on Bookscan are also #1 and #2 on the NYT list. But the #3 book, Cruz’s A Time for Truth, has been omitted altogether from the top twenty spots on theNew York Times list.

This is despite the fact that Cruz’s book sold more copies last week than 18 of the 20 books on the list.

Their decision to blackball Cruz’s book suggests that the Times very much does not want people to read the book.

The Times’s initial explanation was cryptic: “We have uniform standards that we apply to our best seller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold.”

When the Times was roundly condemned for its obvious political bias, they issued a revised statement: “In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases.”

This statement is false, and the Times knows it.

There were no “strategic bulk purchases.” Cruz spent last week on a nation-wide book tour, signing copies of his book at multiple locations. Booksellers at each event had long lines—sometimes over 400 people per event.

Pictures from some of these signings may be found here: Arlington, TX, Katy, TX, and Sioux City, IA.

Simultaneously, Cruz’s book was ranked the #1 political seller on Amazon, and made it as high as the #9 overall seller (across all categories, including fiction).

“The Times is presumably embarrassed by having their obvious partisan bias called out. But their response—alleging ‘strategic bulk purchases’—is a blatant falsehood,” said Cruz campaign spokesperson Rick Tyler. “The evidence is directly to the contrary. In leveling this false charge, the Times has tried to impugn the integrity of Senator Cruz and of his publisher Harper Collins.”

“We call on the Times, release your so-called ‘evidence.’ Demonstrate that your charge isn’t simply a naked fabrication, designed to cover up your own partisan agenda. And, if you cannot do so, then issue a public apology to Senator Cruz and Harper Collins editor Adam Bellow for making false charges against them.”