Word: nebraska
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...raising academic standards, holding schools accountable and fostering learning. But since the penalty for defying the law is loss of federal funds, most treat NCLB's prescriptives like bitter medicine they can't afford to spit out. All, that is, except the iconoclasts who run the public schools in Nebraska...
...Under Nebraska's model, the state sets curriculum standards, but gives teachers free reign on instruction and lets local school districts design their own tests to measure how well students are meeting the grade-level norms. And unlike the vast majority of states, which rely solely on multiple choice exams to measure student achievement and determine yearly progress, Nebraska's students also write essays as part of a unique statewide writing exam. Districts can also include student oral presentations, demonstrations and projects in their battery of assessments. Christensen says the writing requirement gives state officials confidence that the multiple choice...
...Overall last year, just over 87% of all elementary students met federal accountability goals in reading, tying Nebraska with Mississippi for the best scores in the country in that subject area. In math, more than 87% of Nebraska primary schoolkids reached their federal goals. Only the subgroup of special education students narrowly missed the targets in reading and math. Among middle schoolers, almost 87% passed in reading and nearly 85% did in math. Special education students and English language learners were the only subgroups in those grades scoring below the federal...
...else to explain the conspicuously public dinner in Washington last week between Bloomberg and Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Vietnam veteran and G.O.P. apostate who has come out in full opposition to President Bush and the continuation of the Iraq War? Hagel has toyed with the idea of running for the G.O.P. nomination. But he's an outsider now within the Republican family; having attacked Bush, he'd be doomed in a G.O.P. primary. Hagel's only avenue, like Bloomberg's, would be a third-party bid. It doesn't hurt that Hagel happened to make millions...
...screenwriter. (Often the really talented people in L.A. are the ones serving the rest of us hacks lunch). Russell helped write a movie in which Whitney is considering taking a role. Russell also lived in the same dorm with me at college. "What are the odds of that?" asks Nebraska-born Whitney, in a much milder down-home accent than the one he drawls out on stage. O.K, the odds are long, but I get the sense these kind of small town moments follow Whitney as he travels through big cities in states red and blue...