Report Card

Baltimore Sun reporters and editors give their early grades for the Ravens' 2012 draft performance. Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat reporter: As usual with the Ravens, there was a lot to like about their draft haul. To get Courtney Upshaw in the second round while also acquiring another pick was a huge coup. You can bet that there was a lot of head shaking going on around NFL war rooms that another potential impact defensive player had fallen into the Ravens' laps. Bernard Pierce and Tommy Streeter also have a lot of athleticism and upside.

Baltimore Sun reporters and editors give their early grades for the Ravens' 2012 draft performance. Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat reporter: As usual with the Ravens, there was a lot to like about their draft haul. To get Courtney Upshaw in the second round while also acquiring another pick was a huge coup. You can bet that there was a lot of head shaking going on around NFL war rooms that another potential impact defensive player had fallen into the Ravens' laps. Bernard Pierce and Tommy Streeter also have a lot of athleticism and upside.

Quarterback: B+ Joe Flacco did a good job making his reads and being on the same page with his receivers. His passes had some velocity on them, and his best throws were high and tight. He missed on one long one to Anquan Boldin, but he delivered when he had to make plays. Flacco had a QB rating of 128.7. Offensive line: B Cleveland threw a lot of different blitz packages at the Ravens, and the Ravens handled them fairly well. Left tackle Michael Oher and left guard Ben Grubbs were dominant, and the right side of tackle Marshal Yanda and Chris Chester turned in solid performances.

Unfavorable weather conditions last year worsened water quality in the West and Rhode rivers south of Annapolis, according to the environmental group working to restore them. The two Chesapeake Bay tributaries earned a 'D' grade overall on the West & Rhode Riverkeeper 's annual report card on their health, a drop from 2010 that the group attributed to a wet spring and hot summer worsening water quality conditions. Although there were no major fish kills reported last year, the report card notes, weather conspired to make conditions worse for crabs and fish, increasing nutrient pollution and algae while lowering dissolved oxygen levels in the water.  Heavier spring rains wash more fertilizer and other nutrients off the land, while hot temperatures help drive down dissolved oxygen levels in the water, stressing fish.

The Orioles spent the final weeks of the 2011 season making life tough on the wild-card contenders in the American League, which ranks as a small consolation prize after they spent the rest of the year making life tough on themselves and their fans. So, at the very last minute, because they put an apple on our desk, we're changing the team's final grade from an F to a D-. It's hard to cut them much more slack with the fourth-worst record of the 30 major league clubs. Here's the rest of our annual report card, which rates the individual performance of every position player who got at least 75 at-bats and every pitcher who threw at least 15 innings for the Orioles over the course of the past six months.

It isn't straight A's, but we'll give Kevin Kamenetz a "very good" on his report card for his first year in office as county executive. A year ago, Baltimore County was perched on the threshhold of a new political era - a new county executive had been elected, along with five new County Council members. Was this a new broom? And would it sweep clean? As far as Kamenetz was concerned, he was hardly a "new broom" in county government. He had already served four terms - 16 years - as a county councilman.

Report card Quarterback F Elvis Grbac just had a poor performance. He often didn't have time to throw, and when he did, he threw behind receivers most of the night. But the low point was when he tripped while dropping back on a third-and-seven play at the Titans' 33 late in the first quarter, killing a drive. It was another sign that Vinny Testaverde still plays for the Ravens. Offensive line F The team has tried Kipp Vickers, Sammy Williams and Erik Williams at right tackle. Who's next, Robin Williams?

Turning an urban school system ''around'' is like turning the Titanic around on a dime in 10 minutes: It simply can't be done in the space and time allowed. Certainly it can't be done in a year, so it's much too early to judge Walter G. Amprey after only a year as Baltimore school superintendent.But Dr. Amprey has made himself fair game. He's given himself an ''A,'' declaring, ''I don't think I've really failed at anything.'' And he's issued his own written statement on Year 1. It reiterates his educational philosophy and says that ''much has been done over the past year to make an entire school system ready for change.

For the fifth year in a row, Howard County posted the best performance on the state's annual school report card -- remaining the only school district to meet state standards in 13 categories of pupil performance.Overall, the Howard school system scored seven excellent and six satisfactory marks in the annual Maryland School Performance Program Report, which was released yesterday.This year's state report evaluates the performance of Maryland's 24 school districts during the 1993-1994 school year in areas such as pupils' basic skills, attendance rates and promotion rates.

The state's annual school "report card" results show that Carroll schools are maintaining a high level of achievement. Still, county administrators, teachers and parents shouldn't get overly comforted by the school system's performance.The third annual Maryland School Performance Report, issued yesterday by the state Department of Education, listed Carroll as one of only two districts -- Howard's was the other -- that met all of 13 standards.The performance of the state's schools overall has improved with all districts meeting 7 of 13 performance standards, up from 5 of 13 last year and 2 of 8 two years ago.State school officials were also forthright in pointing out where more work is needed:* Only 73 percent of Maryland's ninth graders passed the functional math test.

MarylandCAN, a new education advocacy group, has just released its first annual ranking of schools . A first reading of the rankings shows that lots of schools fall into the same category so there isn't much fine tuning of the data. Dozens of schools received the rating of number one.   The rankings are based on data that is readily available on the Maryland State Department of Education website, but it is organized in a way that allows for a more user friendly comparison between districts and schools.

The Charlottesville jury recommended a sentence of 26 years for George Huguely V for the murder of Yeardley Love. Ms. Love's village continues to mourn her death; Mr. Huguely's village is mortified and silent. The phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" has been overused to the point of triteness, but there remains an important truth in it: Our children are raised as much by our neighbors, friends, family and teachers as they are by us. When our children succeed, the village succeeds; when our children fail, the village looks left and right and wonders what it could have done differently.

It isn't straight A's, but we'll give Kevin Kamenetz a "very good" on his report card for his first year in office as county executive. A year ago, Baltimore County was perched on the threshhold of a new political era - a new county executive had been elected, along with five new County Council members. Was this a new broom? And would it sweep clean? As far as Kamenetz was concerned, he was hardly a "new broom" in county government. He had already served four terms - 16 years - as a county councilman.

The Orioles spent the final weeks of the 2011 season making life tough on the wild-card contenders in the American League, which ranks as a small consolation prize after they spent the rest of the year making life tough on themselves and their fans. So, at the very last minute, because they put an apple on our desk, we're changing the team's final grade from an F to a D-. It's hard to cut them much more slack with the fourth-worst record of the 30 major league clubs. Here's the rest of our annual report card, which rates the individual performance of every position player who got at least 75 at-bats and every pitcher who threw at least 15 innings for the Orioles over the course of the past six months.

Quarterback: This was one of Joe Flacco's worst days as a pro. His passes in the flat had no zip, and he even had trouble completing swing passes. He held onto the ball too long at times, and never had any timing with his receivers. Flacco, who threw two interceptions, finished with a quarterback rating of 51.2. Grade: F Offensive line: The Titans had three sacks, but they put constant pressure on Flacco. Right tackle Michael Oher returned to old form, and had two false start penalties.

Quarterbacks: This was the most composed Joe Flacco has ever been against Pittsburgh. He made some really tight throws over the middle and was patient going through his progressions. Even when he had a couple of bad throws, Flacco regrouped quickly. He wouldn't want to admit it, but the win and the way he played does a lot for his confidence and his teammates' confidence in him. Flacco finally challenged the Steelers in the middle of the field, and he won. Grade: A Running backs: Halfback Ray Rice set the tone by gaining 36 yards on his first carry.

Schools will be judged by one more category this November when the second annual state "report card" is issued: whether their 11th-graders have mastered the basic minimum skills tested by the Maryland Functional Tests.The state Board of Education agreed yesterday to hold a public hearing next month on what performance levels to set for 11th-graders on the tests, which measure skills that the students are expected to know in ninth grade and are a prerequisite for graduation. The report card already includes statistics on whether ninth-graders are passing the tests, as well as other data on dropout, attendance and grade promotion rates.

Baltimore's harbor may be a mess, but those who attended a daylong conference on its problems Saturday came away encouraged that it doesn't have to stay that way. The meeting — sponsored by the Waterfront Partnership, a nonprofit group representing Inner Harbor businesses and institutions — was equal parts science class, how-to workshop and pep rally. It was punctuated with appearances by local politicians and Alexandra Cousteau, a clean-water advocate and granddaughter of undersea adventurer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.