Standards

The number of Maryland elementary and middle schools on the state's list of poor performers grew slightly last year -- in part, officials said, because the standards are getting tougher every year. The list A compilation of those area schools at risk - and those that are on the mend. pg 7b

Proponents of tougher drunken-driving laws criticized a House panel yesterday for again killing legislation that would have toughened standards for driving while intoxicated in Maryland, but vowed to continue their fight."

Editorial insulted firefightersYour editorial of Oct. 17, "Generation gap at the firehouse," regarding the incident of the Anne Arundel County fire captain was an insult to firefighters.You imply that paramedics are younger and better educated than their firefighting colleagues.Your statement that firefighting is not a dominant duty is ridiculous, as is the statement that paramedics are angry because they make less money than their superiors.Believe it or not, many firefighters are also college-educated and must keep up with advances in technology to protect the public.

WASHINGTON -- Facing political and economic pressures more intense than any surrounding recent environmental debates, the Clinton administration is feverishly searching for a way to hold close to the stringent air standards it proposed six months ago while softening the impact of their implementation.With environmental officials refusing to give in to pressure from congressional Republicans, manufacturers and others to relax the proposed standards, administration aides are predicting that efforts to resolve the conflict will focus on attempts to make cleaning up the air less costly.

MANY FACTORS contribute to Howard County public schools' distinction of having one of Maryland's best public education systems.Not least of these is the socio-economic advantages that help students get better preparation for class than many of their peers elsewhere. They are fortunate to live in one of the nation's wealthiest counties, where most of their parents can provide the resources to help them learn.But there is something else. Students entering the county's school system know -- or quickly come to learn -- about its relatively high standards.

The pupils come to school prepared to learn. Their parents expect excellence. And the teachers are inspired.That's life at Davidsonville Elementary, where high expectations and positive attitudes helped make it one of the first four elementary schools in the county whose third-graders met Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) standards."I'm very proud of them," said Jeanne B. Paglee, Davidsonville's principal.The report of spring 1995 MSPAP test scores was made public last week.

Twice in my life (so far) I have been fired from jobs. On several occasions I have not been hired, or was denied promotion, for reasons I believed had to do with my gender and race. It wasn't until last year, 34 years into the journalism profession, that I reached my goal -- my own network TV show.In 1960, the university admissions office told me I couldn't get in unless I improved my C-minus high school average to a B. I did. Later, when I flunked out of college, my father said if I went back I had to pay my own way. I did, my grades improved, and I graduated.

Berkeley, Calif. -- HOORAY for history controversy! For years, we've agonized and anguished over how our schools teach math and science -- as we should. But history bonds us together as a people, as Americans. Isn't it time we gave it serious attention?Two recently published volumes, entitled the "National Standards for United States and World History," give us that opportunity. But let's make the discussion honest, fair and civil -- not mean-spirited misrepresentations.From Rush Limbaugh to the Wall Street Journal editorial writers to the former head of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Lynne Cheney, critics complain that the "Standards" which are more guidelines than rigid "standards")

SAN DIEGO -- The members of the Mid-Eastern AthleticConference could see it coming, but they still don't enjoy being bypassed on the NCAA's road to reform.The 89th annual NCAA convention heated up yesterday with Division I votes on freshman eligibility and other thorny issues related to academic progress.The MEAC, a conference of nine historically black colleges that includes Coppin State, Morgan State and UMES, protested with some counterproposals, which lost in landslides."This is definitely going to widen the gap," UMES athletic director Hallie Gregory said of the difficulties members of the MEAC already have recruiting and competing in Division I. "More importantly, I don't think we're looking out for kids' welfare."

New survey standards delayedDisputed land-surveying standards that were to take effect tomorrow in Maryland will be delayed two months, state regulators and a surveyors group agreed yesterday in a Circuit Court hearing.The Maryland Society of Surveyors Inc., joined by builders, real estate brokers, a land title company and Bell Atlantic-Maryland, sued the state earlier this month seeking to block enforcement of regulations that the plaintiffs charge will boost Maryland's already-high closing costs.

Lorraine L. Stutman, whose popular Roland Park clothing consignment shop kept women dressed in glamorous designer clothing for 40 years, died of heart failure Nov. 3 at St. Elizabeth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Southwest Baltimore. She was 90 and had lived on Park Heights Avenue. Lorraine Libby Titelman, the daughter of a tailor and homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised in the 2300 block of Guilford Ave. After graduating from Eastern High School in 1937, she went to work as a secretary.

Maryland's testing standards for fourth-grade reading and math are some of the lowest in the country, according to a report released Thursday that ranks the relative difficulty of passing state exams that are required under the federal No Child Left Behind law. In math, the state standards were the sixth lowest in the nation, ranking between Illinois and Alabama. "I think it is deeply concerning that Maryland's academic standards are some of the lowest in the nation because it is a disservice to students who have to compete internationally," said Matthew Joseph, head of Advocates for Children and Youth.

Members of the education community questioned Tuesday whether Maryland should raise its standards, a day after the state released data showing that only a handful of seniors did not graduate because they could not pass newly required tests. Out of about 62,000 students in the Class of 2009, only 11 were denied a diploma because they had not met the High School Assessment requirement. All students in Baltimore were able to graduate unless they had not fulfilled course requirements. "I think the average citizen will look at this and say, 'This is not an endorsement of rigor to the diploma,' " said Benjamin Feldman, the chief accountability officer at the Baltimore public schools.

Baltimore's leaders have been encouraging developers to go green for a while but recently made it official. All sizable new projects and major renovations have to make energy and environmental upgrades. That will mean healthier buildings with lower operating costs for developers and cleaner air and water and lower carbon emissions for the city. It puts Baltimore in a league with more than 200 other cities and states with mandates, though Baltimore appears to have one of the more progressive programs, including private as well as buildings as small as 10,000 square feet.

A generation ago, educators were pointing with alarm to the fact that Johnny couldn't read. Today the alarm is just as likely to be over the fact that Johnny can't do algebra, either. A study by the Abell Foundation reported that nearly half of Maryland high school graduates need remedial courses in math once they go to college because they haven't mastered the essential skills in high school. And it's not just algebra they're having trouble with. Professors say they're getting students ill prepared to handle even the most elementary math, including basic arithmetic.

A letter Tuesday by recent Loyola College graduate Richard M. Fogal objecting to the school's plans to make the SAT optional generated a significant response from readers. The systematic effort by college administrators to lower the ceiling to attain diversity is disgusting. This bending over backward to accommodate students who don't test well bodes poorly for institutions like Loyola. It also insults the intelligence of students who come from poorer neighborhoods. If coached by interested volunteers in their communities, they can study hard for the SAT and score as high as their compatriots from more affluent neighborhoods.

Maryland and 45 other states have agreed to develop a common set of academic standards for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, a national shift away from local control over schools that seemed unlikely even a few years ago. The agreement signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley and state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick was led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. It would only commit Maryland and the other states to craft a common core vision for what every student should know in math and reading, but it is a step that is expected to eventually lead to the adoption of national standards and tests.

Maryland joined California and 14 other states in suing the Bush administration yesterday for blocking state efforts to reduce global-warming pollution from cars and trucks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last month that it would not grant a waiver to allow "clean cars" laws passed by Maryland and the other states. The announcement came a day after President Bush signed a law to increase average fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, up from the current 25 miles per gallon.

As he signed into law legislation requiring the first increase in fuel-efficiency standards in three decades, President Bush waxed on so enthusiastically Wednesday about federal mandates to curb the greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate warming he sounded like a convert to the cause. Alas, it was a feint. Within hours, the Bush administration used the new fuel-efficiency standards as an excuse to deny California, Maryland and more than a dozen other states the authority to set limits on tailpipe emissions.

Although they have shown improvement, most of Maryland's circuit courts still fall short of the ambitious standards set in 2001 to complete cases in a timely manner. Of the state's 24 jurisdictions, four met the goal of completing 98 percent of their civil cases in 18 months, and six met the goal of completing 98 percent of their criminal cases in six months, according to reports for fiscal year 2006. Statewide, the number of cases meeting the standards since 2001 has risen 3 percentage points for criminal cases and 8 percentage points for civil cases.