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PAGE 2 - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2014
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Gateway Superintendent’s Corner Anyone who’s following educational trends in the media will have seen all of the pros and cons of standardized educational testing and the implementation/adoption of the Common Core State Standards. The debate seems to be intensifying, particularly around the ‘new’ national tests being developed by two groups: PARCC (the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers testing consortium, to which Massachusetts belongs) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Both are creating computerized tests based upon Common Core standards, meaning they are focused on students’ ability to combine information from multiple selections of materials and formulate an appropriate response. Ideally the test results will be available to schools more quickly than the paper-based MCAS tests due to the use of computerized grading. These ‘new’ tests are causing much controversy and have many parents, staff members, and even schools opting out of participating. The PARCC test has not been fully ‘adopted’ in
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training, and then have students take the test) seems to grow exponentially. We’ve
also found that Pearson (the test development company) is setting a technological level for the hardware so high that many of our computers cannot be used to take the test and others have to undergo
significant updates to accommodate the hardware requirements. I can barely imagine scaling this test up from the 34 students we have taking it this year to all students in grades 3-8 in the near future.
While there has been much talk about finding ways to help districts pay to upgrade their technology infrastructure and purchase computers See Gateway, Page 3
Celebrating 175 years On Saturday evening March 29, 2014 we celebrate our historic past, exciting present and hopeful future at our 175th Anniversary Scholarship Gala.
Dr. David Hopson Massachusetts yet and, as part of that process, many students and schools— including two classes at Gateway—are participating in a ‘pilot test’ of the assessment system. Setting up for the trial run of the PARCC assessment has turned into a major burden for many schools, including ours. The time commitment of staff (technology, administration, proctors) to plan for a trial run in which the requirements seem to change regularly, and the efforts of setting up computers to run the tests (thereby effectively taking them out of classroom use for the time it takes to set them up, run the
In the 1960’s, the state authorized the Bachelor of Arts degree as an alternative to the teaching program, and the College was renamed Westfield State College. Enrollment quadrupled between 1960 and 1967, and new buildings and continuing education and graduate programs were added.
For more information, please visit us at westfield.ma.edu
Odds & Ends TONIGHT
THURSDAY
AM showers, PM sun. Mild!
48-52
Cloudy with a rain/snow/sleet/freezing rain mix.
30-34
FRIDAY
Sunny skies.
44-48
WEATHER DISCUSSION Today there will be a gradually increase in clouds through the afternoon. By 5 PM, we’ll be under mostly cloudy skies with temperatures near 40-degrees. Expect a mix of rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain to develop after 9 PM and continue through your Thursday morning commute. Having said that, there could be some icy spots on the roads tomorrow morning. Showers move out Thursday morning, where a mix of sun and clouds will take over with a Spring-like afternoon with highs near 50!
today 6:56 a.m.
7:02 p.m.
12 hours 06 Minutes
sunrise
sunsET
lENGTH OF dAY
‘Superhero’ in trouble after publicity FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Publicity over a dispute between two men over leadership of a costumed band of self-professed reallife Michigan superheroes ended up getting one of them in trouble again. The Flint Journal and The Detroit News report Adam Besso, who hails from the Detroit area and is nicknamed “Bee Sting,” pleaded guilty last month to leaving Michigan without permission of his probation agent. He’s to be sentenced March 31. Besso says authorities should have better things to do than pursue him. Probation officials in part cited Facebook posts. In an article in early February by The Detroit News, Besso also indicated that he drove with a suspended license. The article highlighted a rift between Besso and Mark Williams, who dresses up as Batman to patrol the northern Michigan community of Petoskey.
LOCAL LOTTERY Last night’s numbers
MASSACHUSETTS MassCash 02-15-16-23-35 Mega Millions 11-19-24-33-51, Mega Ball: 7 Estimated jackpot: $400 million Megaplier 3 Numbers Evening 4-7-1-8 Numbers Midday 6-5-4-7 Powerball Estimated jackpot: $80 million
CONNECTICUT Cash 5 06-09-11-13-35 Lotto 05-06-13-15-28-44 Estimated jackpot: $1.3 million Play3 Day 1-0-6 Play3 Night 2-3-9 Play4 Day 9-5-6-8 Play4 Night 6-7-1-5 Powerball Estimated jackpot: $80 million
TODAY IN HISTORY Today is Wednesday, March 19, the 78th day of 2014. There are 287 days left in the year.
O
n March 19, 1979, the U.S. House of Representatives began televising its floor proceedings; the live feed was carried by C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network), which was making its debut.
On this date: In 1687, French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle — the first European to navigate the length of the Mississippi River — was murdered by mutineers in present-day Texas. In 1863, the Confederate cruiser Georgianna, on its maiden voyage, was scuttled off Charleston, S.C., to prevent it from falling into Union hands. In 1918, Congress approved daylight saving time. In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval. In 1931, Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling. In 1945, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved. Adolf Hitler issued his socalled “Nero Decree,” ordering the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands. In 1953, the Academy Awards ceremony was televised for the first time; “The Greatest Show on Earth” was
named best picture of 1952. In 1965, the wreck of the Confederate cruiser Georgianna was discovered by E. Lee Spence, 102 years to the day after it had been scuttled. In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage. In 1987, televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary. In 1993, Supreme Court Justice Byron R. White announced plans to retire. (White’s departure paved the way for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to become the court’s second female justice.) In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)
Ten years ago:
President George W. Bush, on the first anniversary of the Iraq war, urged unity in the war against terrorism. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian (jehn shwee bee-ehn) and his vice president were shot and slightly wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on the final day of Taiwan’s presidential campaign. The Army dropped all charges against Capt. James Yee, a Muslim military chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who had been accused of mishandling classified information.
Five years ago: An Austrian jury sentenced Josef Fritzl, 73, to life in a psychiatric ward for locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years, fathering her seven children and letting an eighth die in captivity as a newborn. Pope Benedict XVI, visiting Cameroon, told Muslim leaders that true religion rejected violence; the pontiff also held up peaceful coexistence between Christianity and Islam in the country as “a beacon to other African nations.”
One year ago:
Pope Francis officially began his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring symbolizing the papacy and a wool stole exemplifying his role as shepherd of his 1.2-billion strong flock during a Mass at the Vatican. Insurgents carried out a wave of bombings across Iraq that killed at least 65 people. Harry Reems, 65, the male star of the 1972 adult-film classic “Deep Throat,” died in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Today’s Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 89. Theologian Hans Kung is 86. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 84. Author Philip Roth is 81. Actress Renee Taylor is 81. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 81. Actress Ursula Andress is 78. Singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry is 77. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 68. Actress Glenn Close is 67. Film producer Harvey Weinstein is 62. Actor Bruce Willis is 59. Actresscomedian Mary Scheer is 51. Playwright Neil LaBute is 51. Actor Connor Trinneer is 45. Rock musician Gert Bettens (K’s Choice) is 44. Rapper Bun B is 41. Rock musician Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) is 38. Actress Abby Brammell is 35. Actor Craig Lamar Traylor is 25. Actor Philip Bolden is 19.