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Why General Motors (GM) Shares Are Sliding TodayJill Norton, an education policy adviser in Massachusetts, has a teenage son with dyslexia and ADHD. Shelley Scruggs, an electrical engineer in the same state, also has a teenage son with ADHD. Both students go to the same technical high school. But this fall, Norton and Scruggs advocated on opposite sides of a Massachusetts ballot referendum scrapping the requirement that high school kids pass a standardized state test to graduate. Norton argued that without the high bar of the standard exam, kids like hers won’t have an incentive to strive. But Scruggs maintained that kids with learning disorders also need different types of measurements than standardized tests to qualify for a high school diploma. Voters last month approved the referendum, 59 percent to 41 percent, ending the Massachusetts requirement. There and in most other states, Scruggs’ position against testing is carrying the day. Just seven states now require students to pass a test to graduate, and one of those — New York — will end its Regents Exam as a requirement by the 2027-28 school year. Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Virginia still require testing to graduate, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a group that opposes such mandates. In Massachusetts, teachers unions favored getting rid of the exam as a graduation requirement. They argued it forced them to teach certain facts at the expense of in-depth or more practical learning. But many business leaders were in favor of keeping the test, arguing that without it, they will have no guarantee that job applicants with high school diplomas possess basic skills. State by state, graduation tests have tumbled over the past decade. In 2012, half the states required the tests, but that number fell to 13 states in 2019, according to Education Week. The trend accelerated during the pandemic, when many school districts scrapped the tests during remote learning and some decided to permanently extend test exemptions. Studies have found that such graduation exams disadvantage students with learning disabilities as well as English language learners, and that they aren’t always a good predictor of success in careers or higher education. An oft-cited 2010 article by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin may have ignited the trend to scrap the tests. Researchers’ review of 46 earlier studies found that high school exit exams “produced few of the expected benefits and have been associated with costs for the most disadvantaged students.” Some states began to find other ways to assess high school competency, such as grades in mandatory courses, capstone projects or technical milestones. “Minimum competency tests in the 1980s drove the idea that we need to make sure that students who graduate from high school have the bare minimum of skills,” said John Papay, an associate professor of education at Brown University. “By the mid-2000s, there was a reaction against standardized testing and a movement away from these exams. They disappeared during the pandemic and that led to these tests going away.” Despite the problems with the tests for English learners and students with learning disabilities, Papay said, the tests are “strong predictors of long-term outcomes. Students who do better on the tests go on to graduate [from] college and they earn more.” Papay, who remains neutral on whether the tests should be required, pointed out that high school students usually have many opportunities to retake the tests and to appeal their scores. Anne Hyslop, director of policy development at All4Ed, a think tank and advocacy group for underserved communities, noted that in many states, the testing requirements were replaced by other measures. The schools “still require some students or all students to demonstrate competency to graduate, but students have many more options on how they could do that. They can pass a dual credit [high school/college] course, pass industry recognized competency tests. ... “A lot of states still have assessments as part of their graduation requirements, but in a much broader form,” she said. Massachusetts moves Scruggs said her son took Massachusetts’ required exam last spring; he passed the science and math portions but fell 1 point short in English. “He could do well in his classes, but if he didn’t pass the three tests, he wouldn’t get his regular diploma,” Scruggs said. “How do you go out into the working world, and you went to school every day and passed your classes, but got no diploma?” Her son has taken the English test again and is awaiting his new score, she said. Norton, by contrast, said the exam, called the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, gave her son an incentive to work hard. “I worry that kids like him ... are going to end up graduating from high school without the skills they will need,” Norton said. “Without the test, they will just be passed along. I can’t just trust that my kid is getting the basic level of what he needs. I need a bar set where he will get the level of education he needs.” Students in Massachusetts still will have to take the MCAS in their sophomore year of high school, and the scores will be used to assess their overall learning. But failing the test won’t be a barrier to graduation beginning with the class of 2025. The state is still debating how — or whether — to replace the MCAS with other types of required courses, evaluations or measurements. High school students in Massachusetts and most states still have to satisfy other graduation requirements, which usually include four years of English and a number of other core subjects such as mathematics, sciences and social studies. Those requirements vary widely across the country, however, as most are set by individual school districts. In New York, the State Education Department in 2019 began a multiyear process of rethinking high school graduation requirements and the Regents Exam. The department decided last month to phase out the exit exam and replace it with something called a “Portrait of a Graduate,” including seven areas of study in which a student must establish proficiency. Credit options include capstone projects, work-based learning experiences and internships, as well as academic achievement. Several other states have moved recently to a similar approach. Harry Feder, executive director of FairTest, an advocacy group that works to limit standardized testing, said course grades do a better job of assessing students’ abilities. “Standardized tests are poor ways of incentivizing and measuring the kinds of skills and knowledge we should have high school kids focusing on,” Feder said. “You get ‘teaching to the test’ that doesn’t bear much of a relationship to the kinds of things that kids are being asked to do when they go on to college or the workplace.” Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association union, said phrases such as “teaching to the test” disrespect teachers and their ability to know when students have mastered content and competency. The high school tests are first taken in the 10th grade in Massachusetts. If the kids don’t pass, they can retake the exam in the 11th or 12th grade. “Educators are still evaluating students,” he said. “It’s a mirage to say that everything that a student does in education can be measured by a standardized test in the 10th grade. Education, of course, goes through the 12th grade.” He added that course grades are still a good predictor of how much a student knows. Colorado’s menu Several of the experts and groups on both sides of the debate point to Colorado as a blueprint for how to move away from graduation test requirements. Colorado, which made the switch with the graduating class of 2021, now allows school districts to choose from a menu of assessment techniques, such as SAT or ACT scores, or demonstration of workforce readiness in various skill areas. A state task force created by the legislature recently recommended some changes to the education accreditation system to “better reflect diverse student needs and smaller school populations.” They include creating assessments that adapt to student needs, offering multilingual options, and providing quicker results to understand student progress. The state hopes the menu of assessment options will support local flexibility, said Danielle Ongart, assistant commissioner for student pathways and engagement at the Colorado Department of Education. “Depending on what the student wants for themselves, they have the ability to show what they know,” she said in an interview. In particular, she said, the menu allows for industry certificates, if a student knows what type of work they want to do. That includes areas such as computer science or quantum computing. “It allows students to better understand themselves and explain what they can do, what they are good at, and what they want to do,” she said.
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IT'S been more than a decade and a half in the making, across THREE different sites. In that time the cash needed has soared by more than half, rising from £50m to £80m. 6 The Dons have big plans to leave their historic home Credit: Keith Campbell - The Sun Glasgow 6 Aberdeen have been based at Pittodrie since the 1890s Credit: Scottish News and Sport 6 They have been eyeing a move away from the site for decades now Credit: Handout There have been land ownership wrangles, green belt protests , traffic fears and now millions multiplying beyond present means. So more than four years AFTER their anticipated move date - Aberdeen have admitted their stadium ambitions have shifted from 'short-term to medium term'. Not that the duration already experienced by the Dons has been anywhere near quick. They've knocked it down the road further than their latest waterfront relocation spot. Read more aberdeen stories DON GO ANYWHERE Aberdeen make big decision about club as they post loss before Miovski cash SMASH HIT Aberdeen launch major new summer event as fans say 'can we get pic with trophy?' It's not far from Pittodrie - but leaving their old home has been a plan riddled with complications. The idea was considered 21 YEARS ago. But it really got into motion back in 2008 - when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister and Barack Obama had just won his first US election . Three residents of the White House have since come and gone - with another due back again - yet the Reds home is no nearer now than it was then. Most read in Football WRONG MOVE Joining Rangers was biggest mistake of my life - I could've played for Man Utd TICKED OFF McGinn's brief ultimatum for Villa v Celtic & prediction for Hoops v Club Brugge KEANE OBSERVER Sky Sports launch Roy Keane probe and ask Redknapp and co for statements VINDA-BLUES Gers greats from 9IAR era spotted at private meal with Helicopter Sunday heroes They're still at Pittodrie and they're back for the foreseeable - 130 years and counting. The Beachfront Ballroom site is the THIRD suggested for the 'world class' stadium. Dundee unveil stunning flythrough footage of new £95m stadium including incredible rooftop terrace Pittodrie already sits near the coast and has a ' beach end' at the Richard Donald Stand. But the Dons say it's unsuitable to develop much more and a move is the most viable option for the club. Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce have claimed a new ground would add an extra £20m a year to the city economy . That's why the club still aims to move despite the bill rising from £45m at Nigg or Kingsford to an pocket-shrinking £80m central spot near the beach - with NO partners to share the load. Fans urged the club to re-think their first proposal - south of the city centre, on green-belt land at Nigg. It got the go-ahead with planning permission approved in 2011 - but a land ownership wrangle saw a work start date delayed by a year into 2013. The Dons later pulled the plug and turned attention to a second site - where they DID break ground and build... only it wasn't a stadium. Cormack Park is now the Dons training base at Kingsford - just off the Aberdeen western bypass road and not far from the first murmuring of a move to Bellfield back in 2003. Aberdeen new stadium timeline 2003 - Aberdeen propose to move to Bellfield Farm, but faced strong opposition from local campaigners. 2009 - Dons fans vote against a re-location to Loirston Loch in Nigg - and urge the club to investigate a site near Pittodrie instead. The plan gets Council approval 2010 - Planning permission for a new ground on green belt land at Loirston is submitted. 2011 - Planning permission approved and Barr Construction lined up as contractor 2012 - Stadium start date is delayed by a year 2014 - Chairman Stewart Milne announces plans for a training base on Univeristy of Aberdeen land. 2016 - Plans for a stadium at Loirston, and the separate training base are abandoned as the Dons turn to Kingsford near the new A90 city by-pass. Locals for the 'No Kingsford Stadium' campaign group to oppose the construction work. 2017 - Kingsford stadium plan put on hold 2018 - Revised plans accepted by Aberdeen City Counci l and work on the training ground begins 2019 - NKS judicial review bid is rejected at the Court of Session and training ground opens, named 'Cormack Park' however chairman Stewart Milne says delays mean the stadium will not be ready until 2023 2020 - COVID-19 pandemic brings construction industry to a halt - then soaring prices once it restarts. 2021 - Alternative site in the Aberdeen beachfront - previously discussed as a city centre centre of sporting excellence is re-visited near the Beach Ballroom. 2023 - Plan to build a stand-alone sports complex rather than combine it with a new stadium is revealed 2024 - Aberdeen city council finance chief says the onus is on the club to fund the £80m venue . Dons accounts reveal their short-term ambition to move from Pittodrie is now a 'medium-term' aim . The plan had been for a dual purpose site with a 'world class' stadium on one side and a training centre nearby. It straddled council boundary lines and only one made it. They've faced 11 other teams in the Premiership on a season-by-season basis, but a protest group created the Dons' biggest opposition. The No Kingsford Stadium group was a thorn in the Dons' side for three years - but the club eventually got the green-light . Chairman Stewart Milne said: "After 17 years, we are one step closer to a new home that will allow us to meet our vision and ambition for Aberdeen Football Club, our city and our region. “Together, we can deliver a first-class facility that will make us all proud, unlocking the potential of the Club, the Trust and the next generation of football stars and making a positive contribution to the local economy." He opened Cormack park and hoped putting off the start of the stadium to 2023 would see property prices near Pittodrie surge - while the club secured more funding and permissions for the neighbouring new-build ground. Then COVID came. Things ground to a halt. Prices did surge - but in materials and construction . 6 The proposed site at Kingsford included a training base and a neighbouring stadium 6 Artists' impressions over the years have shown a variety of options 6 And builds in various locations Not the way Aberdeen had hoped. They went back to the drawing board and looked closer to home. A jointly owned stadium with the council was considered not far from Pittodrie, closer to the city centre towards the harbour - replacing the city's old ballroom dance hall. It was due to be part of a wider city regeneration project in the area, and could include a sports complex and even an ice-rink. A similar idea had done the rounds more than two decades ago with the stadium being the site of a centre of sporting excellence in the city. But changes in priorities and the political scene after detailed reports were commissioned in 2021 slowed progress and post-pandemic costs sky-rocketed from £45m to more than £75m . As if that wasn't enough, council officials then revealed plans to build a separate ice-rink and leisure centre - rather than merging the two within the stadium footprint. Instead they stepped back and encouraged the Dons to fund the £80m move themselves. They CAN get a new ground - but they'll have to find the cash themselves. Read more on the Scottish Sun 'DISAPPOINTED' Harry Potter steam train blasted by passengers who 'dreaded' return journey COLD BEERS SPFL side spotted going for a PINT after their bus got stuck in the snow And in doing so they knocked the plans further down the road. Not as far south as Nigg, but now by their own admission, their big move is now a 'medium term' aim. Keep up to date with ALL t h e latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page