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Is D.C.'s teacher evaluation system rigged?
My guest is Aaron Pallas, professor of sociology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Pallas writes the Sociological Eye on Education blog for The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet affiliated with the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media.
By Aaron Pallas
Two old jokes about doctors and medical school:
Joke #1: 50 percent of all doctors finish in the bottom half of their medical school class.
Joke #2: Q: What do you call the person who finishes last in his or her medical school class? A: "Doctor."
Why do we laugh at these jokes? (At least, the first time we hear them?) Because there's an incongruity in the idea of very high achievers (as most medical students are) being portrayed as low achievers.
It's all relative, of course. The 50 percent of the doctors who finish in the bottom half of the class at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, arguably the top medical school in the country, are not low achievers. The school accepts only 5 percent of its applicants; the average undergraduate GPA of admitted students is 3.85; and the average MCAT composite score is 35, in the top 5 percent of test-takers nationally.
In contrast, the average GPA of admitted students at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) is about 3.4, and the average MCAT composite score is 26, around the 50th percentile of test-takers nationally. Not low achievers, to be sure, but not in the same league as those at Hopkins.
If we looked at the bottom 10 percent of Hopkins medical students, they might well exceed the achievements of 80 percent of the students at LECOM. Where do we draw the line to label a student as a "low achiever"?
That's one of the problems with value-added measures of teacher performance, which are in the news again as New York City considers releasing its teachers' value-added scores. (The teachers' union has sued to stop their release.) Value-added measures are based on ranking teachers against one another. They are relative measures, in the sense that a teacher's ranking depends entirely on the performance of other teachers.
We can contrast value-added measures with the other main thrust in the development of new teacher-evaluation systems, classroom observations by raters trained to evaluate teachers' practices according to a clear set of criteria and standards. Such classroom observations are an absolute measure; the rating of a teacher is against a fixed yardstick of what constitutes good practice, not against other teachers.
In a value-added measure, there are winners and losers, since the technique demands that some teachers appear more effective than others. In contrast, rating teachers according to an observational protocol could result in all teachers being rated "effective."
Although many new teacher-evaluation systems join value-added measures of teachers' contributions to students' test scores with classroom observations of teachers' practices, the architects of these systems have not thought through the implications of combining relative measures of teacher performance (e.g., value-added measures) with absolute measures of teacher performance (e.g., classroom observations). Or perhaps they have thought this through; if so, I don't like their thinking.
Many readers will be familiar with the IMPACT teacher evaluation system piloted by the Washington, D.C. public schools in the 2009-2010 school year. I say "piloted" because the system was brand-new and had not been tried before.
The first year of IMPACT had real consequences. In July, outgoing D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee fired 165 teachers on the basis of their scores on the IMPACT evaluation, which generated a score for each teacher on a scale from 100 to 400 points.
(It's really a scale from 1 to 4, but the components are multiplied by the weight they get in the overall IMPACT score calculation.)
Teachers whose overall score was between 350 points and 400 points were classified as "highly effective"; those whose scores were between 250 points and 350 points were labeled "effective"; teachers with scores between 175 and 250 points were rated "minimally effective"; and teachers who scored between 100 and 175 points were labeled "ineffective." Teachers in the ineffective category were subject to immediate dismissal. Any teacher rated minimally ineffective two years in a row is also subject to immediate termination.
The components of the IMPACT system varied for different teachers in D.C. For general-education teachers in grades four through eight, 50 percent of their IMPACT score was based on an individual value-added (IVA) score comparing the performance of a teacher's students on the standardized 2010 D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System (CAS) to that of other teachers whose students were deemed similar at the start of the 2009-10 school year.
(Computationally, the teacher's final value-added score ranging from 1 to 4 was multiplied by 50.)
An additional 40 percent of the score was derived from five classroom observations carried out by the school principal and "master educators" hired by the district, in which teachers were rated against a Teaching and Learning Framework with nine different dimensions (e.g., deliver content clearly, or engage all students in learning). Five percent of the overall scores was based on the principal's rating of the teacher's commitment to the school community, and the final five percent on a school value-added score estimating the academic growth of all students in the school in reading and math from 2009 to 2010.
We still don't know anything about the properties of the individual value-added calculations that make up 50 percent of the evaluation for Group 1 teachers in grades four through eight in D.C. Although some teachers were fired in July on the basis of their value-added scores, DCPS has not released the technical report prepared by its contractor, Mathematica Policy Research, detailing the method. (An official told me recently that the technical report is expected to be released later this fall.) But the information that is available raises serious questions about the IMPACT framework.
The IMPACT reports that were provided to Group 1 teachers calculate what is described as a "raw" value-added score in reading and math that represents whether a teacher did better in raising students' scores from 2009 to 2010 than other teachers did with similar students. (That's not actually how the value-added calculations work, because the scores for different grades aren't directly comparable, but it's what D.C. reported to its teachers.)
For example, a teacher whose students scored 3 points higher, on average, on the 2010 D.C. CAS assessment than similar students taught by other teachers would have a raw value-added score of +3. A teacher whose students scored 4 points lower, on average, than similar students taught by other teachers would have a raw value-added score of -4. These raw value-added scores were then converted into a final value-added score.
Value-added measures create winners and losers. By definition, if there are teachers who are doing better than average, there will be other teachers who are doing worse than average. The average raw value-added score for teachers is 0, and a D.C. official confirmed that 50 percent of the teachers have scores greater than 0, and 50 percent have scores less than 0.
But the conversion of the raw value-added scores to a final value-added score involves more than just tinkering with numbers, because the final value-added score is what places teachers at risk of being labeled ineffective or minimally effective, and hence at risk of being fired. This is a value judgment, not a matter of statistics. How did the DC IMPACT system determine what value-added score represents effective or ineffective teaching?
The table converting raw value-added scores to the final value-added score tells the story. In reading, teachers whose raw value-added scores were between -.2 and .1 received a final score of 2.5. Raw value-added scores below -.2 received a final score of less than 2.5, with those with scores of -5.9 or below having a final score of 1.0.
Conversely, raw value-added scores greater than .1 had final scores greater than 2.5, ranging up to a final score of 4.0 for teachers whose raw score was 5.8 or above.
What this means is that 50 percent of all teachers received a final value-added score below 2.5, and 50 percent received a final score greater than 2.5. But what's the meaning of a 2.5? Recall that the overall IMPACT score defines a teacher who averages lower than 2.5 on the various IMPACT components as minimally effective or ineffective.
And a teacher who scores in this range two years in a row is subject to immediate termination.
So here it is: by definition, the value-added component of the D.C. IMPACT evaluation system defines 50 percent of all teachers in grades four through eight as ineffective or minimally effective in influencing their students' learning. And given the imprecision of the value-added scores, just by chance some teachers will be categorized as ineffective or minimally effective two years in a row. The system is rigged to label teachers as ineffective or minimally effective as a precursor to firing them.
The pendulum has simply swung from one end of absurdity to the other; if many systems have historically rated 99 percent of teachers "satisfactory," as documented in "The Widget Effect," we now have in D.C. a system that declares exactly 50 percent of teachers ineffective or minimally effective.
Not all of these teachers will be terminated, although if their entire evaluation were based on value-added measures, they could be. Ironically, the classroom observation ratings assigned by D.C. principals and "master educators" are, on average, higher than the value-added scores that teachers in grades four through eight received. So it's the fact that observers generally judge teachers' practices to be effective that offsets the risk of dismissal on the basis of value-added scores. These observations are based on holding up a teacher's performance to an absolute yardstick of what constitutes good practice, rather than comparing teachers to one another.
We still don't know very much about the properties of these classroom observations, however, and it's certainly worrisome when a school superintendent signals to principals that the evaluation system is to be used to dismiss teachers. Bill Turque of the Washington Post reported that former Chancellor Michelle Rhee told D.C. principals in August, "Unless you are comfortable with putting your own child in a classroom, that teacher does not have to be there .... So either go hard or go home."
Rhee has now gone home, but the IMPACT evaluation system appears here to stay. Is it in the top half of teacher-evaluation systems? Only time will tell.
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Valerie Strauss
| November 1, 2010; 6:00 AM ET
Categories: D.C. Schools, Guest Bloggers, Teacher assessment | Tags: d.c. and impact, impact, michelle rhee, nyc teacher ratings, rhee legacy, teacher evaluation, teacher ratings, value added measures, value-added
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The indelible and sad fact is the great majority of DCPS educators believe that, yes, 95-99 percent of them perform "satisfactorily" or "effectively." They refuse to connect their self-asserted level of performance with the decades of dropouts, nonreaders and other flaming signs of abject failure of the system.
Many, but not all of these teachers, won't accept any responsibility for educating kids in the classroom, even after attributing some of the failures to "poverty" and "parental issues."
These teachers deny any measure of responsibility and accountability, and their union nonetheless demands top dollar and job security for them.
This is a real disgrace by such teachers and a stunning ripoff of the citizen-taxpayers and a continuing crime against the prospects of The Children.
Posted by: axolotl | November 1, 2010 8:06 AM | Report abuse
Contrary to the vitriolic comments axolotl likes to spew about DCPS teachers, we have no problem in accepting responsibility for teaching our students and for their academic success when we are evaluated fairly, equitably and on things which we are able to control.
The reality, as this article and many others have clearly proven, is that basing a teacher's evaluation on student test scores is seriously flawed and unreliable.
People can continue to hide their heads in the sand and keep heaping unrealistic expectations upon teachers' shoulders but until people admit that the home environment seriously affects a child's academic success, both sides will continue to draw lines in the sand. Study after study and hard data have proven this. This does NOT that every child born into poverty is doomed to failure. It DOES mean that teachers who teach in high poverty schools have the deck already stacked against them. Look at any data and you can clearly see that student performance is linked to a family's income and the parents educational level.
IMPACT is not only an unreliable evaluation tool, it is extremely subjective and is being used to target specific teachers. For example, in one school in southeast, the principal already told teachers she's not giving above a 2.5 for classroom observations. However, her friends she's hired at the school over the past couple of years seem to be rated "highly effective." In addition, master educators are coming in and scoring teachers 3.0 and above. What does this tell you?
Another example, many teachers were "highly effective" before test scores came back. However, some fell into the "effective" and "minimally effective" category after test scores. If master educators, who are "experts" in their field, are saying by their observations that basically "this teacher really knows how to teach" and yet the test scores bring the overall scores down then maybe students aren't doing their job.
Teachers are NOT the problem in DCPS. Wake up and smell the coffee people.
The truth always comes to light and it will about IMPACT and the disaster Rhee created in DCPS.
Posted by: UrbanDweller | November 1, 2010 8:34 AM | Report abuse
Rhee's comment about principals being comfortable with their own children in a teacher's classroom actually makes sense.
The problem comes when a principal is incompetent and is judging teachers based on some subjective criteria that has nothing to do with good teaching, just a personal preference of the principal.
I believe that I have read that Rhee thinks that "churn" is good for a system. Since that is the case, the evaluation system being designed to get rid of teachers should not surprise anyone.
What is strange is that this "churn" idea is accepted as good by some without any questioning of it. It is good to have new people in a system. It is not so good to have unstable situations in schools. The goal should be to attract good people, not to churn everyone around for the sake of change.
Posted by: celestun100 | November 1, 2010 9:26 AM | Report abuse
Can you (or Bill Turque) get data breaking down the Highly Effective teachers? Eg, what their position, how many teach classes where the students standardized test scores are figured into their evaluation, what schools they are located and how long have they been teaching.
Also to consider is the real life application of public teacher ratings:
For example, there is a school with two 4th grade teachers- one is rated HE, the other is not or is new.
Most parents want their child in the highly effective teacher's room. How would the principal say no?
Posted by: edlharris | November 1, 2010 10:05 AM | Report abuse
celestun100 wrote: I believe that I have read that Rhee thinks that "churn" is good for a system. Since that is the case, the evaluation system being designed to get rid of teachers should not surprise anyone.
Yet research has shown that a high rate of teacher turnover affects student achievement in a negative way. Also interesting is that the evaluation system in MCPS, while similar to Impact in the observation portion, actually seeks to support and help struggling teachers by providing mentors and additional staff development for a year to help get them on track. Those that don't improve often end up resigning. The goal is not to just fire teachers but rather to help them become more effective. I believe in DC the goal was to fire them and replace them with TFA's. That strikes me as a conflict of interest where Rhee was concerned.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 10:52 AM | Report abuse
Sarah (aka axolotl),
All your epideictic arguments always fall back on the victimization of children and the fleecing of taxpayers. In addition, your rhetoric speaks as if you could solve all the world's educational problems if you could just make every teacher accountable for what he or she does in the classroom and somehow curb union corruption. Your position clearly demonstrates the simplistic problem-solution-like attitude that has plagued the ignorant for generations.
Oh, by the way, it was a true crime to suffer through your appeal with the capitalization of "The Children." It is laughable and pathetic (pun intended). And I suggest that you move away from these reductionist arguments. They only showcase the limits of your own understanding.
Posted by: DHume1 | November 1, 2010 11:26 AM | Report abuse
Sarah (aka axolotl),
All your epideictic arguments always fall back on the victimization of children and the fleecing of taxpayers. In addition, your rhetoric speaks as if you could solve all the world's educational problems if you could just make every teacher accountable for what he or she does in the classroom and somehow curb union corruption. Your position clearly demonstrates the simplistic problem-solution-like attitude that has plagued the ignorant for generations.
Oh, by the way, it was a true crime to suffer through your appeal with the capitalization of "The Children." It is laughable and pathetic (pun intended). And I suggest that you move away from these reductionist arguments. They only showcase the limits of your own understanding.
Posted by: DHume1 | November 1, 2010 11:30 AM | Report abuse
Ms. Strauss,
Once again, you are incorrect. Teachers are not assessed on the value added comparison of their colleagues. Students are grouped by similar characteristics across the district (i.e previous performance on the CAS, demographics, special education) Then, these students and their performance are compared to other students who have similar demographics and performance to determine the level of growth they are moving from year to year. If students of similar demographics and needs are seeing higher gains while other students with similar demographics are showing negative growth then one can adequately deduce that the teaching is the central factor. Teachers are then assessed on whether their students are moving in the same direction of positive growth...Mathematica determined that students showing a grade level or more of improvement in a year are showing significant growth. Teachers who are able to do this compared to students with exactly the same types of students across the district are compared. For example, students who are achieving at high levels at School Without Walls are not compared to students achieving at the lowest levels at Ballou. Quite the contrary, students who have similar backgrounds, special needs or even high achievers are compared for their growth against their counterparts.
My question to Valerie and to those who do not agree with this system is this- What if you sent 2 of your children to the same school with 2 different teachers for algebra. Let's assume that both of your kids are at the same level of proficiency in math and at the end of the year one of your children moves to advanced level on the assessment and one of your children falls to basic. This is clear evidence that one of your children's teachers added significant value to her learning while the other showed negative growth...are you saying you would be fine with this?
Or would you just argue that one is more important than the other...
Posted by: teacher6402 | November 1, 2010 12:02 PM | Report abuse
teacher6402 wrote: My question to Valerie and to those who do not agree with this system is this- What if you sent 2 of your children to the same school with 2 different teachers for algebra. Let's assume that both of your kids are at the same level of proficiency in math and at the end of the year one of your children moves to advanced level on the assessment and one of your children falls to basic. This is clear evidence that one of your children's teachers added significant value to her learning while the other showed negative growth...are you saying you would be fine with this?
Of course you are assuming that both children learn exactly the same way and have the exact same ability level. From experience, I can tell you that is unlikely. As a parent, I can tell you that your scenario would not happen at our house as I worked with both of my children every night and if I sensed one was having a problem, I took the necessary measures to correct it. Those measures would depend on what I perceived the problem to be. Perhaps my child was struggling simply because he/she didn't understand the material or needed to be taught in a different way. Unfortunately curricula nowadays is pretty rigid and assumes that all children will be paced the same and taught the same way. In this case, I would either tutor my children myself or find someone else to do it.
If I perceived the issue to be something that the teacher was doing then I would contact the teacher. I would even contact them repeatedly if I felt that I needed to. It's amazing how the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I see that all the time at my school. Either way, I have enough experience with children to know that no two will perform exactly the same way.
To prove your point, you would need to take those same two siblings after a year and switch them between the two teachers to see if the one that is ahead begins to fall behind. Test scores are simply unreliable.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 12:12 PM | Report abuse
Strauss did not write the piece; therefore, she can not be incorrect. Aaron Pallas did. You can't even assign blame correctly.
Posted by: DHume1 | November 1, 2010 12:34 PM | Report abuse
teacher6402 - there could be many non-teacher related differences, even between siblings.
One sibling could have lost his best friend - whom the other sibling didn't know well. One sibling might get yelled at or even beaten by a parent while the other is the "favorite" who never gets reprimanded. One sibling could have a chronic illness, etc,etc.
Posted by: efavorite | November 1, 2010 1:31 PM | Report abuse
I keep thinking about teacher6402's comment about having 2 siblings score differently on tests. Kids learn differently and have different ability levels. Sometimes there are learning issues that don't show up until the child is older. I've experienced this within my own family. One simply cannot put all of the responsibility on the teacher. There are instances where my kids had the same teacher yet they performed very differently on tests.
This all goes back to the fact that some kids just don't test well. My oldest child was labeled as "gifted" in 2nd grade. School was always easy to her and she always tested extremely well. It really wouldn't have mattered what kind of teacher she had. She would've tested well. Yet she almost didn't graduate from high school. She was a classic underachiever. Her standardized test scores, however, would never have revealed that. My younger one was the complete opposite. He struggled on tests but he was a consistent average student.
I've thought about this a lot lately because in Montgomery County, where I teach, we are expected to have all kids be college ready. What exactly does that mean? MCPS has identified 7 keys to college success that students need to meet. Now here's the irony. My oldest child met all of the 7 keys yet she flunked out of one semester in college. At 27 years old, now she tells me that she attempted college because she thought she was required to. That was the message hammered into her. She is just one of those people who is extremely creative and who will never settle into one career or job choice for life.
My youngest met only 1 of the 7 keys--he got 1100 on his SAT (after 2 tries. The oldest got just under 1400) out of 1600. He didn't meet any of the others. Yet he graduated from a good college in 4 years with a 3.0 average.
The difference is that he knew what he wanted to do and had a long term goal for himself. He was motivated where the older one wasn't. These are basic differences between 2 students that have a major impact in their performance. Pigeonholing kids with a one-size-fits-all curriculum and holding their teachers accountable for test scores that are beyond the teacher's control are not going to change that or improve education in any way.
I'm so glad my kids are out of school. I simply would hate to have them subjected to that mentality. It would have been damaging to them.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 2:01 PM | Report abuse
Teacher 6402
You bring up an interesting hypothetical situation.
In my family, we are all good at math and love it. So, one child would not fall to basic. I would teach my child myself if necessary.
But, that wasn't your point. Your point is that a teacher who lets a child fall to basic is ineffective and should be let go.
Personally, I do think teachers should try to reach all kids, but I don't think it is possible. In third grade my daughter told me that everytime math was going to get fun some little boys started to run around the room and act silly and the teacher said "sorry, no fun activities, you can't handle it" to the class. My daughter started to hate math. I don't believe the teacher was ineffective, she just had more than her share of boisterous students that year.
I told my child's fourth grade teacher (she had a milder group of kids) that my child suddenly hated math and used to love it and that teacher took it upon herself to praise my daughter and encourage her in math class. Now my daughter loves math again. Teachers matter, but parents have to be involved and not every group of students is easy to teach.
Posted by: celestun100 | November 1, 2010 2:53 PM | Report abuse
Teacher 6402,
I went through the article again and I can't find anything to support your claim. You state that "teachers are not assessed on the value added comparison of their colleagues." And guess what? There is nothing that contradicts that fact in Aaron Pallas' article.
Look at the following paragraph from Pallas:"For example, a teacher whose students scored 3 points higher, on average, on the 2010 D.C. CAS assessment than similar students taught by other teachers would have a raw value-added score of +3. A teacher whose students scored 4 points lower, on average, than similar students taught by other teachers would have a raw value-added score of -4. These raw value-added scores were then converted into a final value-added score."
After reading through this paragraph again, it is clear to me that students are being compared to other students. It is a good thing that you are not being judged by your own reading ability. I'd have to give you a very low value-added score.
Posted by: DHume1 | November 1, 2010 3:23 PM | Report abuse
The fact is that tests don't always show what a student knows. Sometimes the test format itself is the problem. I just dealt with this issue this week. I had to give a county assessment in my 2nd grade music classes. One student just had no clue what to do. It was a test in which the students listened to a musical example then identified the instrument family they heard. There were five examples. The answer sheet had 5 numbers with 4 pictures after each number representing each family o instruments. I have the students turn their papers face down while they are listening then I tell them to turn their paper over and circle the picture in the row next to number 1 (2,3,4, or 5) that shows what they heard. I actually give directions that are even more specific. After each example I tell them that they should have one circle in row #1, one circle in row #2 etc. This student circled all the pictures in #1 and one picture in #2. He totally blew his test. He apparently knew it and he was in tears. After collecting the papers I played each example and had the students answer them aloud. The problem student knew the answers. His test didn't indicate that however. I proctored third grade MSA testing last year and that was a real eye opener. Sometimes a student didn't understand a vocabulary word or the wording of a question and they would raise their hand and ask. I was only allowed to say, "Read it again, do your best." So the student may have answered a question incorrectly even though he/she knew the answer. We had an incident a few years ago where the state tests had a section on map skills. The test used the term "legend" whereas the teacher had used the term "key" when teaching the kids how to read a map. They had no clue what "legend" meant, even though they most likely would have done very well if the teacher had been allowed to tell them. It's this type of thing that make standardized tests unreliable as the ONLY measure of student learning. They only show a small piece of what the student has learned. Sometimes they aren't even aligned properly with the curriculum which really messes things up given that teachers are not allowed to see the tests ahead of time.
Kids aren't machines. It would be nice if they could be programmed to simply spit out all the test answers they were taught. Sadly it doesn't work that way. Anyone who thinks it does and anyone who thinks that standardized tests are the most important thing they are teaching to, really shouldn't be in the classroom. That, to me, is the definition of an ineffective teacher right there.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 3:48 PM | Report abuse
musiclady - I think a lot of parents realize the differences among their children, as you have, and don't really expect teachers to perform some magical feat that the parents themselves can't - and don't want to perform.
I'm hopeful that the more these crazy ideas are discussed and exposed, the more they'll be perceived as crazy and not "for the children" at all.
I'm afraid right now there are too many like teacher6402 who are indoctrinated and thus not open to common sense. In a way, I'm glad thy're getting more attention -- it means the end of this foolishness is nearer.
Posted by: efavorite | November 1, 2010 3:59 PM | Report abuse
efavorite--Thanks. I agree that most parents see the differences in their own children. One would hope that most teachers would also see the differences in the children in their classes. I know the ones at my school do. We often agonize over kids (like the one I mentioned above) who are forced to demonstrate their knowledge in a way not suited to the way they learn. I fear we are really damaging the students currently in school. It's so sad. I sincerely hope this madness is over by the time I start having grandchildren.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 4:24 PM | Report abuse
You all don't know what you're talking about...if two students who are at the same academic proficiency level enter a class with 2 different teachers and in one class the student moves to advanced and in the other the student moves to basic by the end of the year- which has been happening in DC for the last decade- then the teaching sucks! It's called negative growth- And guess what, it's been happening in DC for 2 decades...as students move beyond the primary grades they are showing negative growth-- which in education means that the students are not moving at the same pace as compared to students at their same grade levels across the nation...This isn't due to illness, asthma, poverty and whether or not the sky is blue...it's the teaching!!! But, I suppose to the worst teachers in the nation you can never admit that otherwise you'd have alot to account for, now wouldn't you? Why do you think so many parents are fighting to get their kids in Banneker, School Without Walls, and McKinley...it ain't the lunches!! Why do you think parents often lobby for their children to get a particular teacher who has success with all students--it ain't the classroom computers!! Why do you think some teachers show gains in their student assessments and others don't--it's the teachers STUPID!
Also, many of you clearly have no understanding of what value added means so there is no point in explaining- perhaps, many of you on here were one of those students who as efavorite stated were the other sibling, "One sibling could have lost his best friend - whom the other sibling didn't know well. One sibling might get yelled at or even beaten by a parent while the other is the "favorite" who never gets reprimanded. One sibling could have a chronic illness, etc,etc." and this is why you don't understand and can't be taught...yeah, that's it...LOL! Maybe you all were the other sibling...
Posted by: teacher6402 | November 1, 2010 6:54 PM | Report abuse
Nice parting shot, teacher6402. You give up on your students that fast?
DHume1, why did you call axolotl "Sarah"?
Posted by: edlharris | November 1, 2010 6:59 PM | Report abuse
Alan Pallas (or a simple randomizing device) could show us that there really are average and good teachers with the bad luck of even three successive years of poor student performance. The consulting epidemiologist who who doesn't think the herd or the teacher needs to be slaughtered following miserable student outcomes would first insist on looking at extensive teaching behavior before finding unexpectedly bad student performance fully explicable by bad teaching practices. There are both unlucky drivers out there as well as some very bad ones. Only the latter should be stopped from driving.
I've created performance standards for major Department of Labor training programs from enrollee performances and characteristics and pre-tests. There was no requirement in the statistical calculation that any training center be deemed failing because of relative ranking. As in all statistical process control, it is up to management to decide how to use data.
Unfortunately, misapplication of statistical models, like false and misleading testimony on degree of certainty about guilt following fingerprint or DNA similarities, all distracts from genuine non-performance of some teachers. Malpractice by police and prosecutors will result in genuinely guilty parties being found not-guilty. So it is with IMPACT.
I'm not thinking of teachers with less patience and more bad days than they used to have. I'm thinking of teachers who for whatever reasons desist from doing much more than showing up on most days they do show up at all, in their last year of teaching. That's not a blast at veteran teachers, either. My own children suffered teachers new to the profession who quit teaching and started their search for a new career sometime during the school year, while not surrendering their positions or salaries until June. There's lots of battle fatique out there, and also some fraction of school principals who are fragging the wounded on their own team.
I'm sure that if Alan Pallas gave his initial reference to Johns Hopkins-trained physisicians more thought, he'd find a different and better one, rather than confusing input and output. Hundreds of thousands of bilateral radical mastectomies later, it has been demonstrated they disfigured women and needlessly so for their long-term survival. The treatment was wrong and the understanding of the disease process was mostly incorrect. But it contributed so much to Johns Hopkins' reputation.
The Lake Erie College - trained osteopaths weren't miseducated with Halsted's destructive models of oncology, and so they did less harm.
Similar shortcomings of IMPACT are also obvious to many. While many of the performances and tricks IMPACT insists on might make a difference as tips-to-try in appropriate situations for some trying-but-failing teachers, there's not much evidence the sum of it isn't a hypochondriac's medicine cabinet of elixirs and tonics.
Posted by: incredulous | November 1, 2010 7:11 PM | Report abuse
Wow! Teacher6402--no one is saying these kids cannot be taught or that they cannot learn. They ARE saying that a single testing format performed on 2 days out of a school year of 184 days does not accurately represent what a student has learned or how effectively a teacher has taught them. Some kids just don't handle the format well at all and do not demonstrate what they have been taught in that particular format. If you don't believe that then you obviously have not tried different ways of teaching to see how different teaching methods affect the way different kids learn. That's really a shame and an incredible disservice to your students.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 7:34 PM | Report abuse
@ed harris- you obviously don't understand sarcasm...it's not I who believes that one sibling can't learn while the other can...
@musiclady- what a ton of crap...I'm so tired hearing from people that some students don't test well or don't do well with that format or they just don't have inhalers or the right textbook...that's a bunch of crap from teachers who don't know how or who are unwilling to differentiate their instruction and plan...
I was a poor kid without health insurance and did just fine in school, but I had teachers that believed I was smart- they never branded me as "one of those kids that don't do well on that format" and they certainly never asked me if I had health insurance or if my parents were loving, good people...how many of us who have had success in our lives have come from totally normal, stable households...what a crock of SH%$! You teach who is in front of you and you create an environment in your classroom that welcomes all students and has high expectations of all students. I have been moving student achievement for years as a teacher with some of the most challenging student home life issues and I am so fed up with the crap teachers in this district who want to get paid for admitting that they can't teach and blame it every issue that so many successful people overcame in their lives--in fact, it's usually a great teacher that is the difference in lives...not inhalers and health plans!
I'm done blogging on here...it's the same narrow minded people who are not educators or probably RIFFed teachers who want to be paid for the rest of their lives for doing NOTHING!!! If you think like efavorite and Valerie Strauss that some issues such as economics and health plans doom our students to failure then why the hell do we need you in the classroom? You might as well just close down the schools and tell the kids what you've already said on this blog---You are destined for failure!
I have no interest in being a part of this anymore. I'm going to go teach and make a difference!
Posted by: teacher6402 | November 1, 2010 8:05 PM | Report abuse
It is all about accountability and responsibility, teacher6402. If I made a analytical or reading comprehension mistake, I would have owned up to it. I wouldn't be ranting about how I am right and no one understands me.
edlharris, I decided to call axolotl that because of the unique rhetorical skills he/she possesses. They are strikingly similar to someone I know whose name is Sarah. Both have a I-can-solve-the problems-better-than-academics attitude and frequently shoot from the hip before thinking. Both liken themselves to the average American taxpayer. And both see themselves as separate from everyone else.
Posted by: DHume1 | November 1, 2010 8:15 PM | Report abuse
teacher6402 wrote: I'm so tired hearing from people that some students don't test well or don't do well with that format or they just don't have inhalers or the right textbook...that's a bunch of crap from teachers who don't know how or who are unwilling to differentiate their instruction and plan...
If kids don't learn differently or test differently, how do you explain the reason different kids have specific accommodations during testing? Why do some kids need a scribe or elimination of time constraints or someone to read the test to them? Once again. No one is saying that kids can't learn. We are saying that some kids learn differently and as such they may very well need and deserve a different way of demonstrating what they have learned. Those are some ways that instruction IS differentiated. That is what most of us do. That is also why good instruction includes multiple and varied measures of student achievement. It is why good teacher evaluation systems look at these different types of student achievement as a way of determining whether or not a teacher has been effective. Are you not reading our posts through? We are simply saying that using test scores as the only measure of student achievement is not accurate and may possibly result in firing effective teachers while ineffective teachers remain employed.
And please don't attack us based on your frustration. You obviously have no clue as to where, what, or how we teach or what our qualifications are. No one has attacked you this way. Please make an attempt at being professional.
Posted by: musiclady | November 1, 2010 8:22 PM | Report abuse
DHume1, thank you.
I get that point about Sarah.
I am curious about who posts and why.
I don't have a problem using my real name, so I find the choice people use interesting:efavorite(Rhee critic, DCPS employee or parent), musiclady(music teacher from MCPS), phillipmarlowe(?),bbcrock(soon to be former DCPS parent, real good friend of child's principal and Rhee defender), axolotl(?), Title1soccermom( DCPS parent), teacher6402(DCPS employee big fan of Rhee), Linda/Retiredteacher(self explanatory and a parent of 2+)
@teacher6402:@ed harris- you obviously don't understand sarcasm...it's not I who believes that one sibling can't learn while the other can...
I see you "read" my response but did not get its sarcasm.
Stiil something we should all be looking for:
breakdown of who the Highly Effective teachers are.
Posted by: edlharris | November 1, 2010 9:34 PM | Report abuse
Reading this article and being a future educator myself, the same topics come about in the classroom between other future educators and the current system trying to become more efficient. Today teachers are rated on a variety of subjects to define if he or she is an effective teacher. Scores have taken over to push children through the system and to make teachers ride on thin ice. But, scores do not always define what kind of a teacher he or she is. I do believe in helping the future of America and educating the younger generation because not does our future rely upon it but also our country and how it's ran. An effective teacher can be determined by not just the rigged system it has but also the way he or she builds relationships with students. There are many factors that do divide each student and his or her struggles, but a teacher can bring content to them that they would be able to relate to.The essentialism idea we have today does not do that.Teachers should be scared of their job security and what the future holds for them because it is sad to say that there are many bad teachers out there that do give a bad name for the good ones that are there. It is vital that we as nation and people with kids strive for the best teachers to teach just as we want the best doctors to care for us. Teaching is a profession, not just a job. The educators that are squeeking by the system are not just hurting the children but putting the future of our country at risk too. You never know whether little Susie or Johnny that sits in their classroom is the next Pulitzer Prize winner or the one who finds a cure for a deadly disease. So, don't you think that educating thses children is pretty important when the next fourty years goes by and the one you are relying on is taking care of you but yet didn't get the proper education he or she deserved.
Posted by: simond1 | November 1, 2010 10:24 PM | Report abuse
"Scores have taken over to push children through the system and to make teachers ride on thin ice."
How true, how true!
Posted by: jlp19 | November 1, 2010 11:06 PM | Report abuse
I have pointed out in other discussions that value-added methods (VAM) is a random-number-driven fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) attack machine. Its aim is to destroy publuc schools, not to improve them. Apart from its undeniable value as a FUD weapon, why would public school administrators pursue something which has no value in actual educational practice, and has also been demonstrated to be actively destructive of education?
The range of circumstances faced by low-wealth children is so great that no hand of 25 kids dealt to a classroom teacher in a given year is likely to be equivalent to another hand or another year. That's what Mathematica Institutes previous report was saying, when it calculated VAM has a p value of .38 (p=.05 or less is considered the threshold for statistical significance).
The Washington Post and its for-profit subsidiaries have deliberately and consciously engaged in FUD. Here is Bloomberg's expose of a recruiter manual of the Post's for-profit subsidiary, Kaplan Learning, explicitly instructing employees in the strategy:
Kaplan K12 Learning Services also feeds its profits on public money for DC elementary and high school students, when they are displaced by the scorched-earth policies (like VAM) which this newspaper promotes to destroy its competitor, the city's public schools.
Posted by: mport84 | November 2, 2010 12:26 AM | Report abuse
I think that this article is very insightful to future educators like myself. I think that it is becoming "real" that teachers will be terminated due to whether or not they are effective teachers. Then the question arises, "who are effective teachers and what makes them effective?" I think that this question is too hard to answer because test scores, to me, cannot determine whether or not the teacher is effective. I know that we have to have some way to measure a teachers performance, but what if the teacher has made a change in the students life or done something drastic to change who that kid will be in the future? Test results do not show this and I think we need to think about this as well.
Posted by: degarom1 | November 2, 2010 10:25 AM | Report abuse
I think the same forces that push these evaluations also want to discourage people like you who plan to become career educators.
It's better for their purposes to have disposable, short-term teachers, who never get paid very much and never become knowledgeable enough to effectively challenge them.
Posted by: efavorite | November 2, 2010 11:01 AM | Report abuse
Unfortunately, teachers are bearing the brunt of the new "Educational Reformists",whom have no educational traning and consider themsleves experts. Did the Mayor and the Council not know about The New Teacher Project's (M. Rhees's company) Anti-Union/Labor philosophies, or that they utilize non-universty standard criteria to create teacher certification standards to justify replacing highy qualifed teachers with "their own" non-certified teachers?
How about the perks these new teachers recieve for working in these environments?
Why was this not seen as a conflict of interest?
How about the fact that the research utilized as a foundation for the program does not have any input from "all" educational age groups.
Maybe there is a reason why only "urban districts" are selected as target grougs.
Has anyone seen the post data which evaluates the program and its' success rate?
Did anyone look into "which" schools and areas receive the most services for the money?
Unfortunately, this well planned scenario has fulfilled it's mission and as usual, the children suffer the most. Michelle Rhee has successfully succedded in making a name for herself; as well as increasing her companies wealth at the same time. Is anyone ready for real reform, not rheteric?
Posted by: Justthefacts15 | November 2, 2010 5:22 PM | Report abuse
Re-think becoming a teacher. The media, Arne Duncan and Barack Obama would love to see you get fired - no matter how hard you work.
Protect yourself and look around for another career. Don't sacrifice yourself to the teacher haters.
Posted by: jlp19 | November 2, 2010 5:58 PM | Report abuse
Mr. Pallas,
This is a very important article. The problem is - is the public doesn't understand the issue. How I wish your message could get out to the public.
Posted by: jlp19 | November 2, 2010 6:07 PM | Report abuse
After reading this article and a few of the posts. Here is how I stand as a future educator. Do I think the IMPACT system is a good idea? YES! Do I think it is a fair measurement of a teacher? NO! I do think it is a great idea. There are to many teachers out there who are not effectively teaching their students! Should teachers basis all of their assessments for students on test scores? NO! Why is it that teachers don't assess strictly based on tests? Well each student learns differently! Some students no matter how hard they try they do not test well! They may be able to tell you face to face what you want to know but they may not be able to write it on a test! Yes, as teachers we should be able to helps students achieve this goal. But there is not enough time in a school day! Teachers have now begun to teach testing, with this evaluation system this teaching method will continue! Why because their jobs are on the line if their students don't pass standardized tests! What has this taught our students? How to take a test? How are they going to use that once they are finished with their education? Standardized testing is only used during school! Also there are some issues with home life but teachers should do what they can to help their students achieve! This could mean asking a student to stay after school to help them learn something they just didn't catch onto as fast as the rest of the class. Even offering a homework lab might help these students who might not be able to complete homework at home. There are ways to help students with homelife that some may see as not a perfect life. As a teacher you should understand your student's background and help them to learn to the best of their ability despite that back ground!
Posted by: craink | November 5, 2010 9:27 PM | Report abuse
There are good teachers and there are bad teachers...this is a fact that I believe is not up for debate; how we differentiate between and address the two, is. I look at Michelle Rhee as a pioneer. I can not say that she was 100% right or wrong, but either way she challenged a system that consistently fails year after year! As a nation, we can continue to go back and forth about how to evaluate teachers or how to save educators' jobs, but what we can not continue to be indecisive about is the future that we owe to our children. Teacher unions are concerned with creating competition among educators, because it harbors ill feelings and an unlevel playing field. I disagree. The idea of competition and striving to be the best teacher because it will save your job will undoubtedly result in superior schools and increased effort by teachers in all schools. If the teacher across the hall is finding that niche in which she can successfully teach all the kids in her classroom, you better do the same...the day of creeping by under the protection of tenure and subtle failure are gone.
Posted by: cooperle | November 7, 2010 2:15 PM | Report abuse
I totally agree that something needs to be done in the education system and many schools are considering longer days which wouldnt be a problem for me as a teacher but i dont think kids need to be in school 8-5 everyday. thats too much. they dont have any time to be a kid because they get off the bus have to eat supper, do homework, and wash up, by that time its probably time for bed and they have to repeat the cycle again the next day. I loved sports as a kid and hanging out with friends and i would want that for my kids also. A week or two of summer school i think would be acceptable because it does take too long to reteach what the students learned the year before.
Posted by: weinela2 | November 7, 2010 10:26 PM | Report abuse
pay no attention to weinela2's comment.. totally wrong article!! sorry!
Posted by: weinela2 | November 7, 2010 10:31 PM | Report abuse
I agree with cooperle. Rhee was definately just trying to find a different way to help the hurting system but with that said i dont like the IMPACT system. I think its unfair to some teachers because it sets them up for failure.It does though create competition between the teachers which i also think is good. A good teacher will keep the not so good teachers on their toes and make them learn things faster becasue they want to keep their jobs.
Posted by: weinela2 | November 8, 2010 4:51 PM | Report abuse
Texas students oppose tuition break for illegal immigrants.
I normally have mixed feeling on issues with illegal immigrants. Simply because we, as a country, know that they are here, but as long as it benefits us with cheap labor or whatever else, we act as if no problem exists. I don't know why this is an issue. Should they be allowed to attend a public college or university or should should all states fall in line with Georgia and Louisiana and forbid attendance.
I simply have a problem with the fact that if they are illegal immigrants, then they are likely not paying taxes that support these schools.
Posted by: dedarnix37 | November 8, 2010 11:52 PM | Report abuse
I appreciate what our military is doing for our country. I truly believe that our veterans are often treated unfairly when they return home. I agree that there should be some thing in place to help them to transition back into civilian life. However, I don't agree that they should be given special accommodations for completing college sooner. As an older adult student who has worked for many years before returning to college, I would love to get some credit for life experience. However, that is not the case. I think it would be unfair to me and many others who have to take the time to complete our education. We all chose other paths in life and this is a result of not going to college right after high school.
I do agree with alternate housing. No adult should be subjected to living with 18 year old students....and vice versa.
Posted by: dedarnix37 | November 8, 2010 11:59 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.


text: Home- Academics- Departments and Programs- Economics- Honors Economics Honors Program If you're driven to succeed and passionate about the study of economics, we invite you to pursue the opportunities for honors study within the department. Menu Menu Honors and High Honors Program in Economics To be eligible to participate in the honors program, you need a minimum 3.33 GPA in the three core courses: ECON 251, 252, and 375. If you're interested and eligible for pursuing honors in economics, we recommend that you discuss your plans with a member of the department by the end of your junior year. Professor Takao Kato is the Honors Coordinator for 2018-2019. If you're eligible, you must then take the year-long honors seminar (ECON 489 and 490) during your senior year. You will earn one course credit for the full year of seminar study, and complete an honors thesis. In addition to the seminar, you will also do research/work for your thesis under the supervision of an economics faculty member. Upon completion, you will present your project to the seminar and act as a discussant of other students' projects. Certification of honors and high honors will be based mainly on the quality of the honors paper. In addition, honors candidates must have, at graduation, a B+ average (A– for high honors) in the nine economics courses taken for major credit, and must receive a satisfactory grade in ECON 490. Should you receive honors or high honors in economics, you will then be eligible for several departmental awards allocated to graduating seniors. For more information about the honors program and a description of the honors seminar, please see the information on the academic program page. Honors and High Honors Program in Mathematical Economics Because the mathematical economics major also includes the requirements for an economics program, special rules apply for honors. If you are a mathematical economics major, you have two mutually exclusive options: Qualifying for honors or high honors in economics by satisfying the honors criteria for the economics major (above) Qualifying for honors or high honors in mathematical economics by satisfying the same criteria (above); however, your departmental GPA is calculated for all 13 of the required courses. Under the first option, you will receive the honors certification in economics as a mathematical economics major. Departmental Awards Chi-Ming Hou Award for Excellence in International Economics Established by past and present department members in honor of the late Chi-Ming Hou, who was a member of the Colgate economics department from 1956-1991, for outstanding achievement in international economics. Most recent recipient: Gina Joseph '17 (No award given for 2018) Marshall-Keynes Award for Excellence in Economics Awarded by the department to the senior with the strongest, sustained performance in analytical economics and on the basis of the comprehensive exam. Most recent recipient: Xintong (Zoey) Liu '18 J. Melbourne Shortliffe Award Established in honor of the late J. Melbourne Shortliffe, chair of the economics department emeritus, and awarded to outstanding graduating seniors who have concentrated in economics. Most recent recipient: Jacob Adams '18 Honors Papers Click below to access the honors papers produced by graduating seniors in each given class year: Class of 2018 honors papers Class of 2017 honors papers Class of 2016 honors papers Class of 2015 honors papers Class of 2014 honors papers Class of 2013 honors papers Class of 2012 honors papers Academics Majors and Minors Departments and Programs Africana and Latin American Studies Art and Art History Asian Studies Biology Chemistry The Classics Computer Science East Asian Languages and Literatures Economics Academic Program Department Courses Faculty and Staff Colgate-Hamilton Seminar Series Off-Campus Study Honors Fed Challenge Economic Data Sources VITA News and Announcements Educational Studies English Environmental Studies Film and Media Studies Geography Geology German History International Relations Jewish Studies LGBTQ Studies Linguistics Mathematics Medieval & Renaissance Studies Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Music Native American Studies Neuroscience Peace and Conflict Studies Philosophy Physics & Astronomy Political Science Psychological and Brain Sciences Religion Romance Languages and Literatures Russian and Eurasian Studies Sociology and Anthropology Theater Women's Studies Writing and Rhetoric Off-Campus Study Core Curriculum Research Fellowships & Scholarships Scholars Programs Pre-Professional Planning Academic Calendar University Catalogue Course Offerings Libraries RELATED LINKS

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CH2M Hill selected as program manager for Anchorage port reconstruction
CH2M Hill has been selected by the Municipality of Anchorage to manage the design, engineering and reconstruction for the troubled Port of Anchorage expansion project, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan announced Thursday.
The company will take over management responsibility from MARAD, a federal agency that previously managed the project, and will help the municipality develop a Request For Proposals for design and engineering services, select a firm to provide the services, and then manage the construction, Sullivan said.
"The program manager responsibility is to provide day-to-day oversight of contractors and subcontractors, and does not include development of a design or engineering," Sullivan said.
CH2M Hill will help select a firm for the port construction design, although it could also be a firm to do a design/build project, he said.
Because the port is owned by the Municipality of Anchorage, municipal officials will retain overall responsibility for the port project, including legal issues, the mayor said.
"The MARAD relationship has not ended, but the agency is not longer the program manager. The federal legislation that allowed MARAD to take on the project remains in effect, however, so any new federal money for the project would come through the agency," Sullivan said.
While MARAD had responsibility, major construction defects occurred on some of the work done through 2010, which will now have to be repaired. Some of the previous construction can be used, however, the mayor said.
Sullivan said he hopes to get construction restarted by 2016 and that the rebuilding would likely take three to four years. Environmental permits will have to be acquired once again, he said.
The $30 million contract is for five years with options for two extensions of two years, with $12 million for each extension. The contract must still be approved by the municipal assembly, which will take up the matter at its Jan. 14 meeting.
Sullivan said the municipality has $130 million on hand for the project in remaining federal, state and port funds. The state has been asked to provide an additional $100 million next year but Sullivan said this was just a "placeholder" to keep the project in the minds of state legislators.
The request will likely be modified when engineering and designs are completed, and construction costs estimates can be made.
Sullivan said he hopes to keep the over cost of the reconstruction at $500 million or less.


text:
Amrita Rao Biography and Fimography
Amrita Rao
Full Name: Amrita Rao
Date of Birth: 17 June 1981
Place of Birth: Chitrapur, India
Birth Name: Amrita Deepak Rao
Height: 5′ 5″
Awards: 2 nominations
Alternate Names: Amrita / Amruta / Ammu
Speaks: English, Hindi, Marathi, and Konkani
School: Convent Girls High School, Mumbai
College: Sophia College
Academic Qualification: Degree in Psychology
Profession: Actress and Model
Advertisements: Fairever Face Cream, Cadbury's Perk and Bru Coffee
What does Amrita Rao Like?
- Amrita Rao's Turn-ons: Impeccable behavior with women
- Amrita Rao's Turn-offs: Selfish behavior
- Amrita Rao's Car in school: I did not need one because I walked to school
- Amrita Rao's Car today: Mitsubishi Lancer
- Amrita Rao's Favorite TV show: I love all Sajid Khan shows
- When does Amrita Rao Lie? I lie sometimes, when I am in bed, haha. But seriously, they are usually white lies to avoid hurting someone or to my mum when she worries unnecessarily.
- Amrita Rao's memorable moments: The day my first film Ishq Vishk released. It took a bumper opening and I went to the theatres with Shahid Kapoor and Ken Ghosh. The audience response was so positive and overwhelming, it was unforgettable.
- Amrita Rao's Philosophy of life: Life is short and sweet, so make others happy and never let anyone down.
- Amrita Rao's Secret ambition: I've led such a protected life that a holiday in Venice on my own would be fun.
- With whom would Amrita Rao go on a blind date? Brad Pitt. Please Angelina Jolie, may I?
- If Amrita Rao were a burglar: I would steal the hearts of my audience.
- What would Amrita Rao to be reborn as: A social worker. I would like to do something for mentally challenged individuals. Maybe I will do so in this life itself.
- Amrita Rao is Allergic to: Snobbish people
- Amrita Rao's Favorite drink: Nariyal Paani
- What is Amrita Rao terrified of: Doing a bad job in a film and letting my fans down.
- Amrita's Favorite Book: Chitra Bannerji's Arranged Marriage
- What is Amrita Rao's dream role: I would not name a role that has already been done by someone. I want to do a role that others would give their left arm for!
Amrita Rao's Movies
- Shortcut – The Con Is On (forthcoming)
- Kunal Avadana (forthcoming)
- Victory (starring Harman Baweja and Amrita Rao)
- Welcome to Sajjanpur (starring Shreyas Talpade and Amrita Rao)
- Shaurya (Guest Appearance)
- My Name is Anthony Gonsalves (starring Nikhil Dwivedi and Amrita Rao)
- Athidhi (telugu)(staring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao)
- Vivah (starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao)
- Pyare Mohan (starring Vivek Oberoi, Fardeen Khan and Amrita Rao)
- Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (starring Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao)
- Shikhar (starring Shaid Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu and Amrita Rao)
- Masti (staring Vivek Oberoi, Ritesh Deshmukh and Amrita Rao)
- Deewar (staring Akshay Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Rao)
- Main Hoon Na (starring Shahrukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan)
- Ishq Vishq Pyar Vyar (starring Shahid Kapoor, Shenaz and Amrita Rao)
- The Legend of Bhagat Singh (starring Ajay Devgan and Amrita Rao)
- Ab Ke Baras (starring Aryan Babbar and Amrita Rao)


text:
Even if you are treating your
heart failure successfully, you may develop a
complication that can be serious and life-threatening. It is important to
identify complications of heart failure as soon as possible, because some can be
extremely serious conditions. You can discuss your complications with your
doctor and learn to take the proper steps to prevent them. The table
below outlines the complications of heart failure.
What is it?
What problems does it cause?
Decreased oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in red blood cells
Heart valve condition
A leaky or tight valve reduces the efficiency of the heart's
pumping action.
Venous stasis: Your skin thickens and looks
shiny or scaly, your hair might also fall out, your skin may also turn brown or
Ulcers: Injuries to your swollen legs cause fluid to
constantly ooze out of cuts in your skin.
ByHealthwise StaffPrimary Medical ReviewerRakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, ElectrophysiologyE. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal MedicineSpecialist Medical ReviewerStephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
Current as ofApril 3, 2017
Next Section:
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Current as of:
April 3, 2017
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology & E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2017 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
Last modified on: 8 September 2017


text:
Dumbarton Oaks Gardens: Winter and Summer Scenes, ca. 1920s-1940s
- Colección
- 1920 - 1949
Based on the film edge codes, clothing, and garden scenes, sections of the film can be dated to the mid-1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The combined footage illustrates Dumbarton Oaks when it was still a private residence, as well as when it became an in...
Amateur Cinema League


text:
Courtesy: Tastemade UK
If you found this post interesting, I would be happy if you pin it or share it on Facebook or on Twitter or Google + circles! All it takes is a simple click on the "pin it", "like", "share", "tweet", or "Google+" buttons below the post. It will keep me fomented! Thanks!


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text:
Judge: Stop booze or face life
A 32-year-old Dayton man was sentenced Monday to 10 years in Nevada state prison for his second conviction of felony drunk driving.
District Judge Michael Gibbons told Justin Reid he was headed for a life sentence if he doesn't quit drinking.
"I am extremely remorseful and regretful," Reid said. "I started drinking again about 18 months ago, and I made a stupid decision to drive. I put friends, family and the community in harm's way."
Reid must serve a minimum of 26 months before he is eligible for parole.
"You've said it," Gibbons said. "You need a long, long period of sobriety."
Prosecutor Erik Levin said Reid had 10 prior criminal convictions.
"Every single one was alcohol-related, or involved domestic violence," Levin said.
Reid's attorney, Matt Ence, said his client was not a violent individual.
"He has an alcohol problem," Ence said.
Reid had a previous felony driving under the influence conviction in December 2006. Under Nevada law, any subsequent DUI conviction is considered a felony with increasing prison time.
Reid was arrested Oct. 2, 2013, at 2:32 a.m., after he was pulled over for driving without headlights, and crossing the center line.
His blood-alcohol content was .20, nearly three times the legal limit for driving.


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Lois Lane
BFF: Superman Played by: Margot Kidder, above; Kate Bosworth Relationship: The yin and yang of superhero lore. There's a professional distance, at first; both meet as reporters at the Daily Planet. Eventually lovers, but initially Lois is more infatuated with Superman than with Clark Kent. Hurdles to romance: Lois' obsession with Superman, not Clark; in "Superman II," he gives up his powers to live with her as a mortal, then realizes without him as an immortal, the world dies; in the 2006 film, with Superman away for years, Lois has taken a fiance, given birth and written an editorial/awkward love letter: "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Integral to plotline? Superman is arguably the only superhero whose love life is as important as his enemy. Without Lois, Superman could be an invincible cipher — as Lex Luthor might say, a soulless Boy Scout. With her, especially as played by the scrappy Margot Kidder, she is the potential blood he doesn't shed, his vulnerability. There's a joy between Kidder and Christopher Reeve in "Superman II" rarely seen in this genre, and that's after he forsakes his powers for a normal life with her. In the Bryan Singer film, Bosworth has a son who turns out to be Superman's spawn, though she (and the kid) feel like a distraction from Superman's existential issues.
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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Washington Post has an editorial opinion this morning on Arizona's Prop. 200 voter registration case before the U.S. Supreme Court this morning. Arizona voter ID law should be overturned:
COMPARED WITH WHAT some Americans have to tolerate on Election Day,
registering to vote is relatively painless. That's partly thanks to the National Voter Registration Act, a 1993 law at the root of a case the Supreme Court will hear on Monday. The state of Arizona argues that it should be allowed to subvert the law's obvious purpose. The court shouldn't let it.
In 1993, Congress looked at the "complicated maze" of often
confusing and sometimes discriminatory state election rules, and it
found that "unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct
and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for federal
office." So lawmakers established national standards. Americans could
register to vote when getting driver's licenses, which gave the act its
unofficial name: the "motor voter" law. Congress also required every
state to accept a simple, common, mail-in registration form
drafted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The record
indicates that Congress meant these to be among the "procedures that
will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in
elections for federal office."
In 2004, Arizona voters approved a state law requiring evidence
of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote. As a result, state
elections officials no longer accepted standard federal registration
forms unless accompanied by copies of passports, birth certificates or
other proof of citizenship. Native American and Hispanic groups
complained, and now the dispute is before the high court.
argues that federal law doesn't bar the state from adding to the
registration requirements listed on the federal form. It points out that
Congress acknowledged maintaining the integrity of federal elections as
another legitimate and important goal. Yet any reasonable reading of
lawmakers' intent requires the conclusion that they did not want to
replace one confusing array of specific state requirements with another
confusing array of specific state requirements. In fact, Congress
rejected a provision that would have expressly permitted states to ask
for evidence of citizenship during registration. On the legal merits,
the justices shouldn't have trouble siding against Arizona.
what of the policy principle? Non-citizens shouldn't be allowed to vote.
But neither should citizens be discouraged from the exercise of their
most essential right — even citizens who don't have identification
deemed suitable by Arizona. States should be instituting reforms to
expand access to the franchise, not narrow it. Universal voter
registration, in which the states take responsibility to register all
who are eligible, would be a good start.
What I've been saying for years! But our Tea-Publican state legislature and Secretary of State Ken "Birther" Bennett have rejected the idea of universal voter registration, and are busy enacting laws to limit the rights of voters and to make voting more burdensome.


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For over 30 years, Cheryl's gourmet cookies and desserts, especially our famous buttercream cookies have been great to share with family and friends. With easy cookie delivery across the United States, no matter where your friends, family, or business partners may live, it's easy to send cookie gifts to deliver a smile.
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How to submit skills-building proposal
"All deadlines have been extended from 15 March 2009 to 27 March 2009"
All skills building workshop proposals should be submitted through the website using the abstract submission form between 1 December 2008- 15 March 2009. Those who cannot access the website may contact the Secretariat to obtain the abstract submission form, which should be
General guidelines for submission through the website.
You will be asked to identify the most appropriate skills-building track for your proposal.
You will be asked to follow the proposal format as prescribed in the online form :
How to submit your skills-building proposal through the website :


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2014 CMS Summer Meeting
University of Manitoba, June 6 - 9, 2014
AARMS-CMS Student Poster Session
Students are encouraged to present a poster with a topic of their choice on Saturday June 7 and Sunday June 8.
To register for the poster session, the abstract has to be submitted and registration has to be paid by May 20.
Setup will take place on Friday June 6th, starting at 3:00 pm, or on Saturday June 7th before 8:00 am. Presenters are asked to give a short (~3min) presentation on Saturday June 7th from 4:15pm to 5:15pm to the judges and remain at their posters during judging to answer questions. The winners will be announced following the judging time period. Prizes are awarded at the banquet on June 8 to the three best poster presenters, based on content, organization, and presentation. Each winner will receive two complimentary tickets to the banquet, as well as $100 and a framed award certificate.
STUDC and the Department of Mathematics at the University of Manitoba are offering participants a limited number of subsidies of $40 each to cover poster printing costs. These subsidies are assigned on a first come basis and are subject to some conditions.
STUDC Student Workshop - Intermediate LaTeX Tutorial
Friday, June 6, 13:30 - 15:30
Westminster Room, Delta Winnipeg
This workshop is designed to help participants improve the quality and readability of their LaTeX documents. Topics include advanced mathematical formatting, an overview of the mathtools and tikZ packages, optimal usage of equation environments and theorem environments, and tips and tricks to improve workflow. Attendees should be familiar with basic LaTeX (for example, be capable of typesetting an assignment, article or small set of notes).
Student Social
Studc invites all student participants to the 2014 CMS Summer Meeting to its Student Social.
Saturday June 7
8:30pm - 10:00pm
Studc is inviting all graduate students and postdocs to participate in a special scientific session focused on clearly communicating their work. This session is mainly meant to give young researchers an opportunity to reflect on and refine their academic presentation skills. To emphasize the focus on communicating clearly, students will be challenged with presenting an introductory talk about their field to a general mathematical audience. All participants are encouraged to opt into receiving anonymous feedback on their talk from both the session chairs and members of the audience. This constructive feedback will allow participants to identify their strengths and weaknesses as presenters in order to become more effective and engaging speakers in this interactive scientific session..
Please submit your abstracts here.
Student Travel Support
With the support of the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Science, CRM, the Fields Institute, PIMS and the University of Lethbridge (Jiping [Jim] Liu Memorial Travel Fund), grants are available to partially fund the travel and accommodation costs for bona fide graduate students at a Canadian or other university. Preference is given to Canadian students. To apply for this funding, applicants should ask their supervisor or departmental graduate advisor to complete the online application form no later than March 17.
Applicants will be notified early in April of the funding decision. If successful, the student will receive a cheque for reimbursement of expenses after the meeting and upon completion and submission of the standard Travel Expense Claim Form, along with appropriate original receipts.
For more information, please contact the Meeting Committee.
Application Form - Please click here to access the online application. All those who submitted applications will hear from the Canadian Mathematical Society in early April.


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our mission
We exist to alleviate hunger in The Panhandle. We do this in many different ways.
First, we provide food, a basic need. We delivered 8.25 million pounds of food in 2018 to the 29 counties we serve, in the top of the Texas Panhandle. According to 2014 data from our most recent hunger study, we served an estimated 92,000 people, in 8,000 different families, through our partner agencies. This is a tangible way you can see what we are doing at the Food Bank. It has been a long-standing tradition since our inception to deliver shelf-stable and fresh foods to the people that need them. We distribute the food through our over 190 agencies that work hand in hand with us to pinpoint need in their communities. We deliver this basic need to people who need help getting back on their feet.
To get the rest of the story, Go Here.


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Aldi reacts to a mum struggling with her son's tantrum
A mum who took her toddler shopping in a supermarket has been given one of the kindest gestures by supermarket Aldi.
Ashley Holmes, a mother of two from Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, was surprised when a staff member at the supermarket wasn't disgusted by her son's reaction when he threw a tantrum.
She wrote on Facebook '''Today while doing my grocery shop at ALDI Kurri Kurri NSW my three-year-old son, decided he would have a full-blown meltdown,'
'Totally lost his marbles! Screaming fit, tantrum. I had my six-year-old son with me too & a full trolley of groceries so I couldn't just do that "Drop & Run" that, let's face it, all us parents have done once or twice in our parenting years.'
Ms Holmes said that other shoppers were ''whispering and glaring'' at her, but she persevered and made her way to the register before she ran out of the store with her son.
'In complete exhaustion, embarrassment and utter disappointment, a lady in an Aldi uniform came walking towards me. I thought "argh, what now",' she continued.
'BUT, she handed me a beautiful bunch of yellow roses from the store, and said "we thought you deserved these, I hope your day gets better, and please don't be embarrassed, we understand" and gave me a hug!'
'That gesture honestly brought me to tears. That was so beautiful. I wanted to just show my honest appreciation for that gesture.'
Ms Holmes thanked the staff for their 'total non-judgement,' support and for 'not whispering about my total lack of control over my child.'
The staff member has since commented on the post saying 'My heart just went out to the young lady I felt so sad for her and could see the hard time she was having, so just wanted to put a smile on her face,' she wrote.
'I just wanted to let you know you're not alone our hearts just went out to you, and I said I'm buying her a bunch of flowers she deserves it [sic].'
Ms Holmes responded: 'Honestly, thank you so much. It was so nice of you all. Can you please pass this message on. Your understanding and non-judgement meant so much. What a horrible day it was, and that one little thing made it just that little bit better.'