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it 's hard to explain to a <unk> why someone they like had to go says mrs. ward |
soon <unk> appeared in the <unk> that carried the school 's familiar <unk> <unk> <unk> on the front |
on the back the shirts read we have all the answers |
many colleagues are angry at mrs. yeargin |
she did a lot of harm says <unk> rice who had discovered the <unk> notes |
we work damn hard at what we do for damn little pay and what she did cast unfair <unk> on all of us |
but several teachers also say the incident <unk> doubt on the wisdom of evaluating teachers or schools by using standardized test scores |
says <unk> key a <unk> teacher the incentive pay thing has opened up a can of <unk> |
there may be others doing what she did |
mrs. yeargin says she pleaded guilty because she realized it would no longer be possible to win <unk> and because she was afraid of further charges |
mrs. ward for one was relieved |
despite the strong evidence against mrs. yeargin popular sentiment was so strong in her favor mrs. ward says that i 'm afraid a jury would n't have convicted her |
since <unk> first touched slate <unk> have wanted to know what 's on the test |
these days students can often find the answer in <unk> <unk> and <unk> their teachers give them in the weeks prior to taking standardized achievement tests |
the <unk> section of the widely used california achievement test asks fifth <unk> what is another name for the roman <unk> <unk> |
it also asks them to add <unk> and <unk> |
<unk> in a <unk> <unk> called learning materials sold to schools across the country by <unk> school publishing co. contain the same questions |
in many other <unk> there is almost no difference between the real test and learning materials |
what 's more the test and learning materials are both produced by the same company <unk> a joint venture of mcgraw-hill inc. and macmillan 's parent britain 's maxwell communication corp |
close parallels between tests and practice tests are common some educators and researchers say |
<unk> booklets software and <unk> are a booming publishing <unk> |
but some practice products are so similar to the tests themselves that critics say they represent a form of <unk> cheating |
if i took these preparation booklets into my classroom i 'd have a hard time <unk> to my students and parents that it was n't cheating says john <unk> a <unk> city mich. teacher who has studied test <unk> |
he and other critics say such <unk> aids can defeat the purpose of standardized tests which is to gauge learning progress |
it 's as if france decided to give only french history questions to students in a european history class and when everybody <unk> the test they say their kids are good in european history says john <unk> an <unk> n.m. <unk> and founder of an educational research organization friends for education which has studied sta... |
standardized achievement tests are given about N million times a year across the country to students generally from <unk> through eighth grade |
the most widely used of these tests are <unk> 's cat and comprehensive test of basic skills the iowa test of basic skills by <unk> <unk> co. and <unk> <unk> <unk> inc. 's metropolitan achievement test and stanford achievement test |
sales figures of the <unk> materials are n't known but their reach into schools is significant |
in arizona california florida louisiana maryland new jersey south carolina and texas educators say they are common classroom tools |
<unk> says well over N million of its scoring high <unk> books have been sold since their introduction N years ago with most sales in the last five years |
about N sets of learning materials teachers ' <unk> have also been sold in the past four years |
the materials in each set reach about N students |
scoring high and learning materials are the <unk> preparation tests |
michael kean director of marketing for <unk> <unk> the <unk> division that publishes learning materials says it is n't aimed at improving test scores |
he also asserted that exact questions were n't <unk> |
when referred to the questions that matched he said it was <unk> |
mr. <unk> the <unk> and william <unk> a michigan state university education professor concluded in a study last june that cat test versions of scoring high and learning materials should n't be used in the classroom because of their similarity to the actual test |
they devised a <unk> scale <unk> one point for each <unk> measured on the cat test to rate the <unk> of test <unk> to the <unk> cat |
because many of these <unk> the <unk> of <unk> figures metric measurement of volume or pie and bar <unk> for example are only a small part of the total <unk> <unk> mr. <unk> says the preparation <unk> would n't <unk> too many if their real intent was general instruction or even general <unk> with test procedures |
but learning materials matched on N of N <unk> |
scoring high matched on N |
in cat sections where students ' knowledge of <unk> <unk> sounds is tested the authors noted that scoring high concentrated on the same sounds that the test does to the exclusion of other sounds that fifth <unk> should know |
learning materials for the <unk> contains at least a dozen examples of exact matches or close parallels to test items |
rick <unk> senior editor of scoring high says that messrs. <unk> and <unk> are ignoring the need students have for becoming familiar with tests and testing format |
he said authors of scoring high <unk> avoid <unk> exact questions but he does n't deny that some items are similar |
when scoring high first came out in N it was a publication of random house |
mcgraw-hill was <unk> |
in a N advisory to educators mcgraw-hill said scoring high should n't be used because it represented a parallel form of the cat and <unk> tests |
but in N mcgraw-hill purchased the random house unit that publishes scoring high which later became part of <unk> |
messrs. <unk> and kean say they are <unk> of any efforts by mcgraw-hill to modify or <unk> scoring high |
<unk> corp. said it completed the acquisition of sacramento savings & loan association from the <unk> & <unk> c. <unk> foundation for $ N million |
the <unk> s&l which has N branch offices in north central california had assets of $ N billion at the end of september |
new york-based <unk> is an insurance and financial services concern |
the purchase price includes two <unk> companies |
the department of health and human services plans to extend its <unk> on federal funding of research involving fetal-tissue transplants |
medical researchers believe the <unk> of small amounts of <unk> tissue into humans could help treat <unk> <unk> and such <unk> diseases as <unk> 's <unk> 's and <unk> 's |
but anti-abortionists oppose such research because they worry that the development of <unk> using fetal-tissue transplants could lead to an increase in abortions |
james mason assistant secretary for health said the ban on federal funding of fetal-tissue transplant research should be continued indefinitely |
he said the ban wo n't stop privately funded <unk> research or federally funded fetal-tissue research that does n't involve transplants |
department officials say that hhs secretary louis sullivan will support dr. mason 's ruling which will be issued soon in the form of a letter to the acting director of the national institutes of health |
both dr. mason and dr. sullivan oppose federal funding for abortion as does president bush except in cases where a woman 's life is threatened |
the controversy began in N when the national institutes of health aware of the policy implications of its research asked for an hhs review of its plan to <unk> <unk> tissue into the brain of a patient suffering from <unk> 's disease |
the department placed a <unk> on the research pending a review of scientific legal and ethical issues |
a majority of an <unk> panel recommended late last year that the research continue under carefully controlled conditions but the issue became <unk> in politics as anti-abortion groups continued to oppose federal funding |
the dispute has hampered the administration 's efforts to recruit prominent doctors to fill prestigious posts at the helm of the nih and the centers for disease control |
several candidates have withdrawn their names from consideration after administration officials asked them for their views on abortion and fetal-tissue transplants |
antonio novello whom mr. bush <unk> to serve as surgeon general reportedly has assured the administration that she opposes abortion |
dr. novello is deputy director of the national institute of child health and human development |
some researchers have charged that the administration is imposing new ideological tests for top scientific posts |
earlier this week dr. sullivan tried to <unk> these charges by stressing that candidates to head the nih and the <unk> will be <unk> by standards of scientific and administrative <unk> not politics |
but the administration 's handling of the fetal-tissue transplant issue <unk> many scientists |
when scientific progress moves into <unk> ground there has to be a role for society to make judgments about its applications says <unk> <unk> associate dean of the yale medical school |
the disturbing thing about this abortion issue is that the debate has become <unk> so that no mechanism exists for finding a middle ground |
yale is one of the few medical institutions conducting privately funded research on fetal-tissue transplants |
but dr. <unk> warns that dr. mason 's ruling may discourage private funding |
the <unk> of federal funds and the climate in which the decision was made certainly do n't provide any incentive for one of the more visible foundations to provide support he said |
despite the <unk> over transplants federal funding of research involving <unk> <unk> will continue on a number of fronts |
such research may ultimately result in the ability to <unk> damaged <unk> or to turn off genes that cause cancer or to regulate genes that cause down 's syndrome the leading cause of mental <unk> according to an nih summary |
the nih currently spends about $ N million annually on fetal-tissue research out of a total research budget of $ N billion |
<unk> hope that two new england states will allow broader interstate banking boosted nasdaq 's bank stocks but the over-the-counter market was up only slightly in lackluster trading |
the nasdaq composite index added N to N on <unk> volume of N million shares |
in terms of volume it was an <unk> beginning for november |
yesterday 's share turnover was well below the year 's daily average of N million |
in october the busiest month of the year so far daily volume averaged roughly N million shares |
the nasdaq N index of the biggest <unk> stocks gained N to N |
the index of the N largest nasdaq financial stocks rose modestly as well gaining N to N |
but the broader nasdaq bank index which tracks thrift issues jumped N to N |
the bank stocks got a boost when connecticut bank & trust and bank of new england said they no longer oppose pending legislation that would permit banks from other regions to merge with connecticut and massachusetts banks |
the two banks merged in N |
bank of new england 's shares are traded on the new york stock exchange |
the stocks of banking concerns based in massachusetts were n't helped much by the announcement traders said because many of those concerns have financial problems tied to their real-estate loan portfolios making them <unk> takeover targets |
but speculators anticipating that connecticut will approve a law permitting such interstate banking soon immediately bid up shares of connecticut banks on the news |
a lot of the stocks that have been under water finally saw a reason to uptick said george <unk> head trader of banking issues in shearson lehman hutton 's otc department |
the biggest <unk> was northeast bancorp which surged N N to N |
the stamford conn. concern has agreed to a buy-out by bank of new york in a transaction with an indicated value of about $ N a share that expires next august |
ed <unk> a <unk> conn. money manager who follows bank stocks said the announcement effectively gives the deal the green light |
mr. <unk> said northeast bancorp also fared well because takeover stocks have returned to favor among investors |
another otc bank stock involved in a buy-out deal first constitution financial was higher |
it rose N to N N |
first constitution has signed a merger agreement with <unk> l.p. and <unk> corp. under which all of its common shares will be acquired for $ N each or $ N million |
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