if the stock market had not performed so poorly
the last several years, he might have remained in his private sector post.
MEAP Scores Show
Proficiency Gains - Elementary and middle school
students improved proficiency in nearly all subjects tested by
the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, according to
reports from the Department of Education. The results Tuesday
were hailed not only for the improvements in scores, but also
for improvements in timing after lengthy delays in last year's
High Schoolers' Apathy Could Help Kill MEAP -
When some students at Lake Shore High School in St. Clair Shores intentionally
blew the MEAP test last week, they unwittingly helped fuel a debate about
dumping the high school exam. Now, about seven seniors - who had already taken
the test in 2003 - face a 3-hour detention and must write a statement on why the
MEAP is important. Some still aren't convinced it is.
Michigan State Board
of Education Pushes MEAP Participation - The Department of
Education has taken steps to ensure the delays and lost answer sheets
of last year's Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests do no
recur, but the State Board of Education said Tuesday that schools now
need to work on getting students to take the test.
MEAP In High Schools - The controversial MEAP exam may be headed for the
scrap heap with the introduction of legislation next week to replace it with a
High School MEAP
Results Not Pretty - Maybe Michigan's public high schools would
have preferred the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test
results for public high schools had stayed lost. The data that was
released was not flattering.
Head MEAP Effort - Edward Roeber has been named director of the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program office in the Department of
Education, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Watkins said
MI Schools in
Focus: Meap Test Primer - It's
considered one of the single biggest barometers of how schools and
students across Michigan are performing: the MEAP test. But as parents
across Michigan and Metro Detroit await individual student MEAP scores
this month, many admit deciphering the MEAP acronym -- Michigan
Educational Assessment Program -- is tough enough without trying to
understand the scores.
MI Granholm Moves
MEAP Back to Education - With the delays of the last Michigan
Educational Assessment Program test scores release still fresh in the
public's mind, Governor Jennifer Granholm did Monday as she had
earlier promised and issued an executive order moving administration
of the statewide test back to the Department of Education.
House OKs MEAP
Bill Extending 2003 Deadline - A bill that would give students
qualifying for the Merit Award until November 15, 2003 to apply for
the scholarship passed the House on Wednesday. SB 701, passed
unanimously, would affect just this year, because of the delays
schools and students have endured in getting the scores on the
Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests. (10/03)
Download "The Assist" (April
2003; pdf size=455kb) -
If IEP Teams
decide a student should participate in the MEAP, they must also
decide if the student needs "standard" or "nonstandard"
accommodations. When nonstandard accommodations are used, the
student's score is NOT eligible for Merit Awards, and it will
count as a "zero" or "not proficient" in Adequate Yearly Progress
calculations under No Child Left Behind. In this issue of
The Assist, see the full listing of standard and nonstandard
accommodations, see the IEP Team State Assessment Decision-Making
Flow Chart and checklist which help teams determine the type of
test a student will take, and learn how you can comment on the new
Draft Guidelines for Determining Participation in State Assessment
for Students with Disabilities.
AP Test May Change Teaching - The Advanced
Placement test, close to surpassing the SAT as the most popular examination in
the country, is undergoing an adjustment designed to change not only high school
teaching but the way introductory college courses are taught throughout the
country, College Board officials sai