HAPPY EASTER!
Silvertips lose 3-2 in OT, back to Spokane for Game 6, C1
04.05.2015
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Everett, Wash.
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HeraldNet.com
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Index timber sale to proceed Additional review of landslide potential concludes the harvest is not a threat; environmental group won’t appeal. By Amy Nile Herald Writer
GENNA MARTIN / THE HERALD
Andy and Kaye Hall attend a March 2 workshop at Whittier Elementary, which introduced parents to the new online testing system Everett Public Schools is adopting this spring.
Head-first into testing Everett school district invests heavily in a new student assessment system By Chris Winters Herald Writer
EVERETT — One night in February, about 20 people gathered in the library at Whittier Elementary School. A school official had them take a test. These were not students, but parents, and the school official was Everett Public Schools director of curriculum and assessment Catherine Matthews. The test was the SBA, or Smarter Balanced Assessment, a multi-grade testing regimen which is replacing older tests required for eventual high school graduation. SBA was developed by a consortium of states around the country,
schedule, A8, and >> Testing with this story online at
HeraldNet.com
including Washington, to comply with new federal education standards called Common Core. This school year, Everett jumped head-first into the new testing ecosystem. The district spent $1.7 million on 3,400 Google Chromebooks, fasttracking the purchase to ensure the technology would be installed in every school by last September. The purchase included three-year warranties on the equipment, device management software and rolling carts
that allow the laptops to be shared among all of the district’s 19,000-plus students. Teachers have been using the laptops not just to prepare students for the SBA tests but also in regular lessons. One goal is that by the time the tests are offered, students will be comfortable with the online platform. Another goal is to get kids better prepared for college and careers in the 21st century. “Nobody hands children worksheets when they turn 20 and have a job,” Matthews said. The Everett Public Schools, one of Snohomish County’s largest districts, begins
Learn more About the new Smarter Balanced Assessment tests: Ready Washington — A coalition of government, nonprofits and advocacy groups supporting Common Core, Smarter Balanced and new standards: readywa.org The Smarter Balanced Consortium — A group of 22 states and territories working to implement Common Core standards through a single testing system: smarterbalanced.org Smarter Balanced practice test — smarterbalanced.org/practicetest Common Core — Home page for the national standards initiative: corestandards.org
See TESTING, Page A8
INDEX — The state Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with a $1.2 million timber sale after taking a second look at landslide risk. The 119-acre harvest on state land near Index known as the “Deer Wrap” timber sale was approved in 2014. But the state halted the process earlier this year after an environmental group in Seattle raised concerns about what it calls potentially unstable slopes below the harvest area. The Washington Forest Law Center says logging the site might compromise the safety of people nearby because fewer trees would likely mean more saturated ground, which could cause a slope to slide. “This isn’t about aesthetics,” said Peter Goldman, managing attorney of the nonprofit Forest Law Center. “This is about public safety.” Proceeds of the timber sale benefits public education, including Washington State University, and local taxing districts. Statewide, the Department of Natural Resources manages 2.1 million See TIMBER, Page A14
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . .E3 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . .D5 Dear Abby. . . . . . . . . . . . .D5 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . .D5 Lottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A2 Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D4 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . .B4 Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A15
DIFFERENT TRACKS
MARINERS ARE CRUZIN’
PURE IMAGINATION
Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . .B7
Assorted 56/42, C10
Are oil trains safe or are new rules urgently needed? Viewpoints, B7
Season opens Monday, and the team plans to go all the way. Sports, C1
Phoebe and her Unicorn are taking up residence. Good Life, D1
SUNDAY
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