Academic experts work to refine plan for tougher standards
Monday, March 16, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Teams of academic experts and lawmakers are at work to make standards within Nevada's schools among the toughest in the nation.
Teams working on English and math standards worked Saturday to refine preliminary standards developed in January.
School board members, legislators, curriculum planners, teachers and parents are all on teams assisting the Council of Basic Education, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm hired by the state to write the new standards for English, math and science.
Consultant Kaye McCann said the goal is to produce standards that lead the country.
"We're shooting for near the top," she said.
The math team has completed its work, the English team will finish up on March 30, and the science team meets Friday in Reno to wrap up its document.
McCann's company will compile the recommendations and present them to the state Council on Academic Standards and Assessments, probably at its April 9 meeting in Las Vegas. And the first public hearing will be May 21 in Elko, followed by sessions in Las Vegas and Reno on dates to be announced later.
Debbie Smith, chairman of the state council, said the standards being drafted now are more rigorous than ones previously drawn up by the state Department of Education. Currently, there are no standards on file for Nevada schools.
When completed, the standards will outline just what a student should know in reading, writing, listening, speaking, research, math and science in second-, third-, fifth-, eighth-, and 12th-grades.
In the second-grade, for example, a student must learn to read and follow directions. In the third-grade, the student must be able to follow more complex directions. The standards become more comprehensive as the grades progress.
Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, a member of the math team, said once the standards are adopted, the state will train teachers to instruct to the higher achievement levels.
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Man, 26, dies in collision with truck traveling at 100 mph
- Nevada’s just not for us, many top high schoolers say
- CityCenter completion might spur home foreclosures
- Casino venue in Singapore will have Las Vegas flavor
- MGM Mirage: CityCenter not affected by debt woes
- Fontainebleau retail component seeks bankruptcy
- Metro admits to improper release of criminal history data
- Holiday Auction 2009 items
- Real estate experts cautiously optimistic about market
- Locomotives win inaugural UFL championship
Blogs
The Kats Report
Could a savior of shuttered Las Vegas Art Museum be ... Peter Max? (6 Comments)
For Paul Stanley and KISS, rock and roll is not over (6 Comments)
Twenty years ago today, Human Nature took root on the farm (1 Comment)
Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch
Photo Gallery: Donny Osmond’s triumphant return to the Flamingo
The Kats Report
'DWTS' champ Donny Osmond still deft afoot in return to Flamingo (8 Comments)
Politics: The Early Line
Meeting of GOP governors draws challengers, not Gibbons (5 Comments)
Politics: Ralston's Flash
Oscar loves forcing developers to sign labor peace agreements, Culinary loves the city's downtown plans and all is forgiven (10 Comments)
Calendar »
- 29 Sun
- 30 Mon
- 1 Tue
- 2 Wed
- 3 Thu
-
Tahoe Takeover at The Bank
The Bank | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Playboy Club model search
Playboy Club | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Queen of Queens at Revolution Lounge
Beatles Revolution Lounge | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Zowie Bowie's Vintage Vegas Show at Monte Carlo
Lance Burton Theater
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati









