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Short changing African American studentsWhile we have heard repeatedly that Howard County students earn the top scores in the state on the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP), there is another test that was given to Howard County elementary school students, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS).An analysis of the CTBS showed that of 5th-grade students scoring in the 95-99 percentile for math, a high score, 64 percent of white students were in gifted and talented classes, 86 percent of Asian and only 30 percent of African American students.

Alicia Cady and her classmates at Logan Elementary School are going to have a tougher time than most fifth-graders adjusting to middle school in the fall."

Howard County pupils' scores on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills remained fairly stable this year, and the county once again scored 23 percentile points above the national norm.Taken in the spring, the CTBS tests second-, fourth-, sixth- and ninth-graders in reading, language and math. Overall, Howard County scored in the 73rd percentile -- same as last year -- with the 50th percentile representing the national norm.While the big picture looks good, school officials are homing in on some trouble spots, such as a "notable" drop in math scores between grades four and six. There is also lingering concern about the the overall test scores of African-American and Hispanic pupils, which lag behind those of Asian and white pupils.

Parents, teachers debate how kids learn to readI have been teaching elementary school for 11 years and am currently teaching in the Baltimore County public schools. By targeting teachers as the culprits who are propagating bad reading instruction you succeeded in deferring public attention away from the larger and deeper issues affecting literacy.While the authors of the "Reading by 9" series touched on some of the external factors affecting reading instruction, they glaringly omitted the voice of teachers.

No SKILL IS MORE basic to education than the ability to read. So a reasonable person would expect to find consensus among educators on the best methods for turning young children into competent readers.Not so. Even a tiny sample of the stormy controversies that swirl around this topic quickly dispels that naive notion.The teaching of reading is big business, from textbook publishers to educators who build their careers researching various methods or advocating one approach over another. Their decisions have a huge impact on the success of our schools.

Why The Fight Over CentennialI was struck by a comment in your Jan. 13 editorial entitled "Explosion at Centennial," stating: "That any school in a county as wealthy as Howard would be judged as inferior by a large number of parents is outrageous."The current Centennial/Wilde Lake controversy does not mark the first time that parents in Howard County have been dismayed over redistricting plans, nor is it the first time that quality disparities have been evident.Elementary school children living in Hopewell (Owen Brown Village, East Columbia)

Maryland students who were given a series of skills tests for the first time achieved average scores when compared with national norms, but officials say scores are expected to rise in the future as a long-term push for improved school performance takes effect.The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills replaced the California Achievement Tests. Both tests seek to compare students' reading, language and math skills with those of students in other states.The results of the tests, given last April, were released yesterday.

Maryland students taking a series of skills tests for the first time last April achieved average scores when compared to national norms, state education officials said today.The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills replaced the California Achievement Tests. Both tests seek to compare students' reading, language and math skills to those of students in other states.A majority of the state's 24 school districts chose to give the tests to all students in grades three, five and eight. In about a third of the districts, the tests were given to a representative sample of students.

Hidden amid the hoopla surrounding Carroll's third-place ranking on the Maryland schools' report card were the results of another test --the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills.For the most part, Carroll students, tested in second, third, fifth, eighth and 10th grades, performed equally well on the CTBS, which is another measure of student achievement in the state's education reform efforts.In fact, students performed "significantly above" the national median -- 50 percentile -- and the county's own expectations, said Judith Backes, supervisor of school performance and assessment.

Q: Can a teen have an elevated cholesterol level?A: Although most discussions about cholesterol and itrelationship to coronary artery disease imply that this is a matter of concern to adults only, we know that the beginnings of this form of heart disease may be traced to childhood.Whether a cholesterol level is elevated is determined by measuring the cholesterol levels of large numbers of people of varying ages. A range of normal values is then developed, and people whose cholesterol levels exceed the 75th percentile for a given age and sex are said to have an elevated blood cholesterol.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore released standardized test scores Thursday for the first time, showing that students who attend Catholic schools in the region score significantly above the national average. Middle-school students had the highest scores. Seventh-graders scored in the 73rd percentile nationally, meaning they scored better than 72 percent of other students on the math and reading portions of the Stanford 10, a nationally recognized test given to thousands of students across the nation.

The Knowledge is Power Program, which operates the highest-performing middle school in Baltimore, is seeking approval to open a new charter elementary school in the city next year, officials announced yesterday. The city school board has approved the creation of a second KIPP middle school for 2009. But KIPP is revising its proposal and asking to open an elementary school instead because of concerns that many students are unprepared for middle school. The program will have to submit a new application.

John Carroll announces awards Emily Bates was named the Laura Pellegrini Award winner at the recent foreign language honors assembly at John Carroll School. The $250 award is presented annually to the junior French student who maintains a high grade average, demonstrates a love of French and intends to pursue French during senior year. The annual Annie Cumpston Memorial Scholarships, presented annually to three students who demonstrate leadership, academic excellence and love of school and community, were presented to Gabriella Denu, Class of 2010; Andrea Boyer, Class of 2009; and Eric Sneddon, Class of 2008.

First- and second-graders in Baltimore public schools showed gains on a national test administered by the school system this spring, officials announced yesterday. In reading, first-graders scored on average in the 46th percentile of the Stanford 10 standardized test, meaning they outscored 46 percent of children in a national sample. That's up from the 41st percentile last year. Second-graders scored in the 43rd percentile, up from the 41st last year. Math scores were higher still. First-graders scored in the 53rd percentile, up from the 46th.

Maryland's state employee pension system, which had such poor investment returns three years ago that it finished last in a national ranking, now falls among the top half of its peers. The state's 46th-percentile ranking in a Wilshire Associates survey comes after a period of reform in which the system's top officials were replaced and investment procedures were overhauled. The survey results, announced yesterday, compare the system against other large public pension funds for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The pension system's fortunes changed significantly as it posted a $3.5 billion gain for the fiscal year - a 16.16 percent rate of return on investments.

I am a novice investor. Where can I find a list of no-load mutual funds? Where can I get data to evaluate their performance? What data should I take into account before I invest? - D.S., Somers, Conn. Start with some of the largest "no-load" (no sales charge) fund families, including Vanguard Group Inc., Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price Group, American Century Investments, Janus Capital Group, Dreyfus Corp., Dodge & Cox, Excelsior Funds and Charles Schwab & Co. Call each company or visit their Web sites to obtain details about their funds.

While largely remaining above the national median, scores of Baltimore County pupils dropped in all but one tested area on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, a multiple-choice test that has been phased out. Second- and fourth-graders taking the test in March performed worse on reading and math than pupils who took it the previous year. The second-graders' math scores fell the most, from the 71st to the 55th percentile. Sixth-graders scored the same on reading. But on math, their scores fell slightly to the 48th percentile, two points below the national median.

Thanks to a powerful final quarter, the beleaguered state pension system notched a 3.47 percent gain in the fiscal year that ended June 30, its first year in the black since fiscal 2000, according to unaudited figures from the State Retirement Agency of Maryland. For the year, however, the state once again lagged behind its peers: The rate of return fell short of the 4.02 percent median return of all pension funds with more than $1 billion in assets, according to the Trust Universe Comparison Service (TUCS)

FOR 38 years, disadvantaged children have had the valuable assistance of Head Start, an important federal program that has helped prepare children to enter kindergarten by providing health, nutrition and hygiene services as well as teaching pre-kindergarten basics. Unfortunately, the Head Start program has changed very little to adapt to a new academic environment and, as a result, the children in Head Start are being left behind their more affluent peers as they enter their school years.

Last year, state education head Nancy S. Grasmick's idea to hire accomplished principals to turn around troubled city schools was a hopeful experiment. This year, Grasmick has declared the program a resounding success and announced yesterday the latest Distinguished Principal Fellows who will lead two more city schools with the mission of improving achievement over three years. Paul E. Dunford, principal of Walkersville Middle School in Frederick County, and Mary M. Minter, the principal at William Paca Elementary School in East Baltimore, will join the ranks of the principals recruited a year ago. Dunford will be principal at Northeast Middle School while Minter will continue at Paca.