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The Herald Bulletin
---- — Over the past several years, Indiana's K-12 schools have been under assault. Or being held to a high standard.
It all depends on your perspective.
One thing's for sure: Teacher and school performance is being graded more rigorously in Indiana than at any other time in the state's history. Teacher raises, for example, are now based on a formula that emphasizes student performance on standardized tests, multiple classroom evaluations and overall school improvement or regress.
Tony Bennett, the erstwhile Superintendent of Public Instruction, did more than usher in the new age of school/teacher evaluations. He fairly beat the Hoosier state over the head with it.
His philosophy and tactics got a resounding no-confidence vote a year ago, when he was soundly defeated in the state election by little-known Democratic challenger Glenda Ritz.
Her victory clearly showed Hoosiers' profound disenchantment with Bennett's strategy of treating schools as cold, hard education factories, where the test is king and little appreciation is afforded for the subtle but significant progress teachers help students make in attitude, perspective and other difficult-to-test areas.
But Ritz's election also signaled continued turmoil in Indiana education. She brings with her a different philosophy and an objection to Bennett's mantra of test, test, test.
So now the Republican-dominated State Board of Education is considering the third change in three years in Indiana's grading system for K-12 schools. The board has until Friday to approve the new formula, which has already been stamped by the bipartisan Accountability System Review Panel.
The new formula would replace the current A-F school grading system with a 100-point scale, based partially on year-to-year student standardized test performances. While the proposed school rating system would expand standardized testing to first and second grades, it would potentially reduce the total number of standardized tests students take during their K-12 years.
Standardized testing is important to gauge how Hoosier students are progressing and how they compare to their peers elsewhere across the state and the country. Results of standardized tests can also be used to help guide a student's instruction plan, suggesting more time be spent in certain academic disciplines when learning lags.
But the Bennett years pushed standardized testing too far, so far that many teachers have been forced to "teach to the test" rather than using their training and expertise to help students grow intellectually and learn to learn.
The new school grading formula proposal may not be perfect, but it is movement in the right direction — toward moderating the emphasis on standardized testing.
In summary The new Indiana school grading formula proposal may not be perfect, but it is movement in the right direction -- toward moderating the emphasis on standardized testing.


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The comedy is pure Noel Coward.
"I'm just appreciative he's here," says Gov. Walker
Uniquely Wisconsin: Tayco Street Bridge Museum
Agriculture is all about the families that work the land, milk the cows, raise the livestock and preserve our environment. For many of these families they have been doing this for generations and at this years' state fair, those who have had the farm in the family for 150 years were honored
Experimental theater is in the mix.
With the county fair season coming to a close this labor daty weekend. I thought it might be nice to get a status report on the health and direction of county fairs. So I went to a man who has been associated with fairs in Wisconsin for most of his adult life
Although much of our attention is given to the junior fair exhibitors when they are preparing for or, are actually in the show ring. That is just a small part of their fair experience. What they do while on barn duty really carries a bigger message to the fairgoers on how well farmers really do treat their animals.
Is 9-years-old too young to fire a firearm?
A 39-year-old shooting instructor accidentally shot by one of his 9-year-old students Monday morning has died, according to the Mohave County Sheriff's Office.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

subset: commoncrawl


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|no reviews
With a stay at Le Lagoto Resort & Spa in Fagamalo, you'll be on the beach and close to Lava Church Ruins. This 4-star resort is within the region of Paia Dwarfs Cave and Peapea Cave. Make yourself at home in one of the 10 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators. Rooms have private furnished balconies. Wireless Internet access (surcharge) is available t...


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Lunch with Mancubus
Mancubus's lunch gets rudely interrupted4.53 / 5.00 10,135 Views
Spelunker : Savlonic
Spelunker by Savlonic4.39 / 5.00 20,033 Views
'Chicken Castle'
The quest for a limbless pet.4.37 / 5.00 7,899 Views
Ninja no bound, an expert warrior from the warring seas fights off evil minions of currently unnamed antagonist.
This is my second flash movie that had been submitted to newgrounds. You can view the first (which is the prologue) if you click in the NG logo.
= 1.0 Version =
Initial Release
Frames: 1280
Seconds: 53.3
Time Spent:
Animating:30 minutes
Music: 10 minutes
Graphics: 15 minutes
Total : 55 minutes
Some advise
It will be better with longer animation and an original scenario
Not really that good.
The burger looked exactly like the burger from this C&H comic:
http://www.lowbird.com/data/images/20 09/04/explosm-comicburgersdisappointe d1.png
(Remove spaces from that link) I suspect you may have copied or traced it.
And the art wasnt that good and neither was the animation. The bulk of the movie was text and the joke of the movie was really just not funny. All in all Id say it is a really pointless movie. 2/4 and 4/10
Ahm no, I didn't trace it nor copied it. It doesn't look anything like the burger in my animation.


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Shapiro says Twitter-based employment index provides real-time accuracy
Xie says internet censorship in China often reflects local officials' concerns
Cheng finds marriage may not be best career option for women
Jeff Morenoff makes Reuters' Highly Cited Researchers list for 2014
Susan Murphy named Distinguished University Professor
Sarah Burgard and former PSC trainee Jennifer Ailshire win ASA award for paper
James Jackson to be appointed to NSF's National Science Board
PSC Brown Bags will return in the fall
Hardy, Ellen, Eliana Maria Hebling, Maria Helena de Sousa, Elsbeth Kneuper, and Rachel C. Snow. 2009. "Association between characteristics of current menses and preference for induced amenorrhea." Contraception, 80(3): 266-269.
Background: Several studies suggest that many women would prefer to avoid menses altogether, but few studies have examined the social or clinical predictors of such preference.
Study Design: In total, 1224 healthy women of reproductive age were surveyed in Brazil, Germany and the United States regarding social, menstrual and reproductive characteristics and preferences for various dimensions of menstruation, including the ideal interval between menses. The extent to which a preference to never bleed was predicted by current experiences with menses was evaluated.
Results: Long menses, menstrual pain and a perceived high cost of pads and tampons were predictive of preferring amenorrhea over all other menstrual patterns after controlling for age, parity and education. Independent significant associations were also found with increasing degrees of life stress and ever use of injectable contraceptives.
Conclusion: A negative experience with menstruation, a high ranking of life stress and ever use of injectable contraception were independently associated with a preference to avoid menses altogether.
DOI:10.1016/j.contraception.2009.06.010 (Full Text)
Countries of focus: Brazil, Germany, United States.
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The owner can choose NOT to act when:
- The business is not suffering because of the behavior of a family member
- High-performing non-family members understand and believe that they are being rewarded fairly as employees and the business comes first
- Family members are rewarded outside of the business through dividends or family gifts
For the business owner to be able to face family members at home and employees in the office, it's critical to separate a parent's love from and owner's responsibility. It must be clear that family members' rewards in the workplace must come from their performance. If the owner can make this clear, he can succeed at work can and sleep well at home.