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Middle schoolers need longer days, foreign languages, state report says
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The Maryland Middle School Steering Committee, which two years ago convened dozens of officials from throughout the state, lists 16 recommendations in its report released Tuesday morning at a state school board meeting. The report aims to improve students’ performance in the formative period when they begin to enter puberty and prepare for high school.
“The expectations are much higher in middle schools today,” said Gerald Scarborough, assistant superintendent of curriculum and education in Harford County and co-chairman of the committee. “The rigor at middle schools needs to be ratcheted up.”
The report did not say how long middle school days should be extended, but calls it “ludicrous” to believe that all students can achieve national and state standards going to school for six hours each day.
The report also recommends that all students master algebra before high school because that subject has been seen as the foundation for future math skills.
In addition, teachers should use technology as often as possible and teach more through online courses, the report suggests. Online courses are becoming increasingly popular not only in colleges and universities, but also in high schools, where students can learn self-discipline.
Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said the plan is “critical to what will ultimately be our graduation rate” because most students who drop out of school do so in ninth grade, a year after they leave middle school.
Students generally perform well in elementary schools throughout the country, but once they enter middle schools, their achievement plunges.
In Maryland, math proficiency plummets 29 percentage points from the end of elementary school to the end of middle school, according to the report. About 86 percent of fourth-grade students test proficient in math, but only 57 percent of eighth-grade students test proficient, according to the report.
School board members generally praised the report but said it would not be easy to carry out.
“The committee has laid out here in its 16 recommendations a very ambitious agenda for middle schools,” said Blair Ewing, a state school board member.
Examiner Staff Writer Dorothy Rowley contributed to this report.
msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
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Outraged Taxpayer said:
Remember, Dr. Weast has been in the field for 40 years. If after all this time, he thinks of education as "crap" - whether its the students, the teachers, his district, or education in general, its time for him to retire - and turn back his pension. I guess he hasn't been very good at what he was paid to do.
11 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Calling the students and teachers that you are supposed to be leading and inspiring "the cream of the crap" is insulting, uncomplimentary, and uncalled for. Shame.
10 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is what happens when for a few decades that Public Colleges requires Foreign Language credits of Some kind to enter a Public College. Also for the last few decades all non 2 year colleges requires Act's or Sat's to enter its institutions of it is Public or Private. They rather have so many entrance exams to enter institutions or work for crappie pay. The problem of Public Schools reside in the Federal Government.
7 agree | 8 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Throw the unions and the books away The kids in Fairfax are too stupid to count let alone write.
7 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Students performance. Leave those kids alone! You people won't be satisfied until kids are in school 7 days a week, 10 or 12 hours a day because you want your own life back. Wrong. Is it not enough that in this information age the homework is piling up on these kids? Can you say 25 yearold burnouts? There are entirely too many parents that don't want anything to do with the children that they brought into this world and are pawning them off on the school system looking for quick solutions. Second language,what for? America speaks English. Why should our kids have to learn a different language when you people keep piling up every stupid idea you can think of on the kids just to make this godforsaken state live up to an imaginary ideal. As long as parents ignore their children and only care about their own lives you will have these idiots of the school system and their dumb ideas. Also, without the kids there is no revenue for the schools. LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!!!
18 agree | 7 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
OK, I'll go along with the foreign languages bit. But maybe we ought to form a task force to look at the effects of raging hormones and extreme peer pressure on the learning process. Or figure out what really constitutes an engaging teacher or an exciting learning experience at the middle school level (I expect it's quite different than what we might find in elementary and high school and would in no way entail test preparation as a foundation for life!!) Both of these approaches would be infinitely more useful than mandating algebra and calling for longer school days as a way to fend off the dropout program.
8 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
No question that we need to improve students’ performance in reading, writing, and arithmetic during the formative period, all else is BS. Technology is a tool, not a solution. Non-union teacher's that actually are qualified in the subject matter they are teaching (reading, writting, and arthimetic)would be better than technology. If you can't figure say 10% of a number in your head, how do you know what the calculator says is true? LOL!
11 agree | 9 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
grasmick is a polirtical hack and she was nothing until she married lou grasmick friend of donald scheaffer. nancy was not on the fast trck to be principal until lou stepped inb and gave her the money and political clout. besides, how can you trust someone who has to hide how they look. grasmick has no pores on her skin because of all the plastic surgery. plastic nancy should be gone. omalley cannot even do that right.
11 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
what people do not realize is that that ranking is on the advasnced placement exams. grasmick or the state have nothing to do with how the course selectio are made and how it is taught. most of the students that are taking advanced placement come from higher income families. the rest of the state suffer though gramsicks antiquedated curriculum/ fire grasmick.
10 agree | 10 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
again and again this nancy grasmick has to have a hole in her head. longer days, second langauge, how about english???? most of the students cannot tell the difference between a noun and a verb. instead of focusing in on these clown classes get back to the basics, reading writing and social studies and science. hell most kids don't know geography any more. with these stupid tests they take the kids are regressing instead of learning. to much is placed on testing. let the teachers teach and the kids learn. sto tyhe stupid testing especially from measurement inc. that now does the msas and hsas. for more infromation, people in this state hated the mspap, well who do you think nancy grasmick is paying 100 million a year to make these tests. same company differentname. fire grasmick. omalley cannot even do that right
9 agree | 9 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
From FY06-FY08 the Montgomery County school system hired over 1,000 new employees while the scyool system lost over 3,000 students. They have hundreds of "teachers," who never teach. The new school budget adds six parent community outreach coordinators and ten very expensive vice principals for elementary schools and well as five elementary school counselors. None of these people teaches a student. There is lots of waste in a $2.06 billion budget.
13 agree | 14 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
We can' afford property taxes after computer, income, sales, car and corporate tax increases. SAVE OUR HOMES! You can't tax your out of an economic downturn. Gasoline is headed to $4 a gallon. Enough is enough!
15 agree | 13 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Maryland would be number one if it wasn't for O'Malley's interference with Baltimore City schools. FACT.
38 agree | 32 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Imagine if we deported those illegals. They'd take their rent out of state and stop buying groceries, etc.
But then our prisons would free up a bit.
Oh, and health care would be more affordable.
Check it out! The school drop-out rate would be reduced since everyone speaks one language.
And schools wouldn't be overcrowded plus welfare programs would be less burdened....
We'd have another billion for schools plus two more billion for tax cuts!
All we need to do is to enforce our laws. For once.
By the way, did anyone ever find Baltimore City's $58,000,000 they lost?
Could you imagine if our students had the education they deserve? When the government wouldn't steal right from under them (e.g. see above). Better yet, close down the unions; move salaries for the teachers right off the bat!
61 agree | 52 disagreeVote on this comment: I agree or I disagree
examiner reader said:
but will they really use the money they get for repairs? why does Baltimore Co. get all this money and the schools still have major problems every year and its the same ones same story, I'll tell ya the money goes into the general school budget and the Top uses it for big raises and hiring of inflated positions, how many (and this is not a typo here) asst. asst. to the deputy asst superintendent does this system need?
58 agree | 63 disagree
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avid reader said:
That's right superintendents, shove it up their rear ends in Annapolis. Those chumps deserve all of the anguish you can dish out.
55 agree | 57 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
We need some engineers to look at school construction funding costs in Montgomery County. Why should refurbishing a high school cost $110 million? Why were there recently 50% cost overruns in 9 school construction projects?
49 agree | 59 disagree
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Examiner reader said:
malley is a thief.
59 agree | 75 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
O'Malley's comments and actions are childish and sophomoric. Surely Maryland should have the number 1 school system but the fact remains that O'Malley meddled with education when he was mayor and Baltimore City likely pulled the rest of the state behind. Ms. Grasmick is an educator, not a pawn. Shame on you, Mr. O'Malley. Grow up or step down.
47 agree | 55 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
But, Baltimore City's schools continue to rank last in the state.
67 agree | 52 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
omalley, ever heard the term "if it ain't broke, don't fix it?" I thought not.
44 agree | 29 disagree
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John Mack said:
No wonder O'Malley's gang wants to get rid of her - she's doing a great job for the citizens of Maryland. That can't be tolerated in O'Malley's empire - Off with her head and raise taxes or at least create some new ones. That's his battle cry.
67 agree | 48 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I agree with 4:44...let's band together and make O'Malley, Miller and Busch resign. Their only agenda is for their political gain and certainly not in the best interest of the high tax paying citizens of this once great state.
53 agree | 50 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
People can we get a march or something going, we must let mom and the othe dems know we will not stand for what they is trying to do. They are just getting out of controll.
36 agree | 41 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I do not think the GOP is a participant of any power in Maryland. The B+ is most likely due to the fact than a vast number of people work for the State. Since Maryland is vastly a Democrat State than it must be democarts sending their kids. It is not a crime to be rich. It is not a crime to send your child to a private school. Costly is a variable idea. It is also a policy of the present administration in Annapolis to make it costly to the taxpayer.
70 agree | 64 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
oh look, the GOP pape is censoring comments. The report gives teachers C-, but a B+ for family income. This is meaningless. Rich families send their kids to costly private schools.
71 agree | 64 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Congratulations Mrs. Grasmick. O'Malley doesn't care about educational excellence. He blocked the State take over of long failing Baltimore schools dooming another generation of blacks to functional illiteracy. O'Malley cares about control, which enhances his political power. He is a shameless liar not a leader.
60 agree | 50 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
If Mrs. Grasmick was not doing her job, I could understand why O'Malley would want to fire her. However, she has proven herself and has served the State of Maryland well. I plead with everyone to call your senators and delegates to express your dissatisfaction at the possible firing of Mrs. Grasmick. She's been a great Superintendent of Education here in Maryland, and we should not lose her only because little Martin O'Malley and Mike Miller are having temper tantrums. Other states aware of her situation and aware of her great capabilities are contacting her right now. Why should we lose out and another state win?
71 agree | 56 disagree
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avid reader said:
Great news about a wonderful person who really cares about her job. If O'Malley had one tenth the integrity of this woman he would be a better politician, but instead he hates her and that shows his child like behavior.
65 agree | 61 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Why do you think Miller does not want local control of public schools?
65 agree | 59 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The arrogance of O'Malley and Miller threatening to get rid of a great State Superintendent speaks volumes.Power and politics are far more important in Maryland than good leadership and results.These two guys are political thugs intent on getting even when anyone disagrees with them. That has always been Miller's style and it is pretty clear that is O'Malley's too. O"Malley did nothing to improve Baltimore City schools except get in the way of the State taking over to clean up the mess in the school system. Lousy leadership from both of these guys hurts the entire State.
69 agree | 55 disagree
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avid reader said:
Well, I guess the MOB in Annapolis will still try to get rid of one of the best superentendents in the country. if they do and the people don't rise up then this state is what a lot of people are saying now and that is we suck.
69 agree | 57 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
People should realize that raising the age is not going to do one thing. If the parents are not involved and let the children do as they please how can trying to keep them in school until 18 help. Sorry, but back in the day Black parents were involved in the schools and made sure that their children attended, studied and were in the house at a reasonable time. Now it seems that they just do not care. Why burden the taxpayers. As noted in the article the parents need to take an active step in ensuring that chidlren attend school and act in a civil matter.
78 agree | 76 disagree
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