HEALTH District Named the Safest ‘State’ During Pandemic Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer As the nation continues efforts to keep the ongoing pandemic at bay and prepare for the health challenges associated with the winter season, staying safe remains a paramount concern. Now, with holiday season travel in full swing, some states have proven safer than others and a new report reveals that the District of Columbia counts as the safest place in the nation. Researchers at the personal finance website, WalletHub, compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics: rates of COVID-19 transmission; positive testing; hospitalizations; deaths; and the share of the eligible population receiving vaccinations. With an overall score of 91.30, D.C. outdistanced Connecticut (86.64), Rhode Island (86.53), Florida (85.90) and Massachusetts (85.43). Vermont (82.17), California (81.17), Maryland (78.88), New York (78.86) and Hawaii (77.96) rounded out the top 10. Virginia finished 19th with a 67.14 overall score while Wyoming (18.56) claimed the spot of least safe. The District of Columbia also enjoys the lowest positive test rate while Pennsylvania has the highest rate of vaccinations. Hospitalizations were lowest in Hawaii, Mississippi, North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama. Conversely, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana had the highest hospitalization rates, researchers found. D.C., Florida, Kansas, Missis-
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sippi and Oklahoma registered the lowest death rates, while West Virginia, Idaho, Montana, Kentucky and Wyoming reported the highest death rates. Politically speaking, the average rank of Blue States proved far better than Red States. “Everyone should continue to socially distance and wear masks as recommended by the CDC,” stated WalletHub expert David F. Merrick, the director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program at Florida State University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy.
5 Mayor Muriel Bowser. (Photo courtesy E. Sarai, VOA News via Wikimedia commons)
“These simple measures will enable our communities to handle the back half of this pandemic as vaccines roll out,” Merrick said. When asked how the federal government can help states increase vaccination rates, Rupali J. Limaye said the feds could guide states as needed. “States will determine how to
TESTING from Page 1 ious grades and disciplines have been tasked with giving to students throughout the grading period. Some teachers, including one who spoke to The Informer on the condition of anonymity, say these assessments, called required curricular tasks (RCTs), haven’t sparked academic growth because they don’t take into account pandemic-related skills gaps. “Sometimes, students find RCTs frustrating because they’re based on writing articles and we have students who struggle to write their names and sentences,” said the second grade teacher who works at a Southeast-based public school. In addition to RCTs, regular lessons and small-group interventions, the second grade teacher said DCPS has made them responsible for giving students weekly phonics assessments. Teachers in this position, she said, often have little latitude in changing the test or straying away from a data collection mandate that’s been described as purposeless. As the Southeast teacher re-
distribute the vaccine but the federal government can help by guiding them as to how best to distribute it,” said Limaye, an associate scientist in the Department of Health, Epidemiology, and Health, Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “People must continue to stay
home if they can, social distance and wear a mask,” Limaye continued. “The vaccine rollout will take some time but once a person is eligible, they should get the vaccine. The vaccine is not only effective but has been tested rigorously for safety. All these things together will help protect communities and lead to state recoveries,” he said. WI
geared toward completing the writing tasks rather than going through the natural order of the lessons.”
parents, secured PARCC’s cancellation. But over the last few months, Acting State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant has remained adamant about students taking PARCC and other assessments this school year to measure what has been described as learning loss. However, some teachers like James Isreal said the focus should be on the social and emotional effects of the pandemic, not additional assessments and data collection. Though Isreal no longer teaches a core subject, which precludes him from doling out RCTs more often, he said he vicariously experiences his colleagues’ apprehension about tackling these tasks while addressing matters often requiring their immediate attention. “There are countless physical and verbal altercations that are happening in schools across the District,” said Isreal, a teacher at Hart Middle School in Southeast and Washington Teachers’ Union [WTU] vice president for junior high schools. “Requiring ALL RCTs to be complete without discretion just to have data when teachers don't have enough time to really teach the standards to
THE DEBATE SURROUNDING STANDARDIZED TESTS
5 James Isreal - Washington Teachers Union Vice President for Junior High Schools (Courtesy photo/Facebook grab)
counted, instructors are encouraged to spend their planning period, not preparing engaging lessons, but uploading testing data onto an online platform that DC Public Schools [DCPS]’ central office can access. “The RCTs are not meeting them where their skill levels are,” the teacher said. “Our practice has been
DCPS didn’t respond to The Informer’s inquiry about the long-term plans for RCTs and elements of the data collection process. RCTs, introduced during virtual instruction last school year, count among several standardized tests given to District public school students. Other assessments include: ANet English and math tests; MAP math and science tests; i-Ready; Reading Inventory; and DIBELS, the phonetic awareness test to which the second grade teacher referred. These tests, taken throughout the year, eventually snowball into PARCC, the annual assessment that measures students’ college and career preparedness and dictates a school’s standing on the STAR Framework. During the pandemic, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education [OSSE], at the behest of teachers and
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