ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996                 TAG: 9608050074
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER

ASPIRANTS ACCENT THREE R'S BOARD CANDIDATES GEAR UP FOR ELECTION

Joe Nash has an old-fashioned prescription for raising Roanoke's schoolchildren's test scores.

Homework.

"Homework provides the practice needed to reinforce school studies," said Nash, one of two applicants for the School Board seat recently vacated by Nelson Harris.

Harry Davis, who also is seeking the post, said parents, teachers, school administrators and School Board members need to work together to monitor students' performance, and they should expect excellence - not mediocrity.

Superintendent Wayne Harris has made higher test scores one of his top priorities.

The city's average scores on standardized tests for some subjects in some grades are below the 50th percentile - the national average. This means that more than 50 of every 100 students score higher than city students on these subjects. But Roanoke's average scores, in other grades and subjects, are above the national average.

Harris has set a goal of increasing the number of students scoring above the 50th percentile by 4 percent a year for the next three years.

The city's pass rate on the Literacy Passport test for sixth-graders is below the state average. The city's rate on the most recent test was 57.9 percent for all three parts of the test - reading, writing and math. The state average pass rate was 69.5 percent.

Council will hold a public hearing on the applicants at 2 p.m. Monday to allow residents to express their views on them. It will make the selection Aug.19.

Nash, 41, and Davis, 48, are seeking appointment to the board for the first time. Nash was a losing independent candidate in the recent City Council election; Davis never has sought a governmental post.

Nash said he wants to be on the board because, as a parent of five children living in the city, he feels an obligation to help make schools safe and productive. He also hopes to help get parents more involved in their children's education.

Both applicants say that the basics - math, reading, writing and other subjects - should remain a priority and should not be overlooked in the growing popularity of technology.

Both applicants support the School Board's goal of raising teachers' salaries to the national average within three years. And they would vote for funds to hire more teachers to provide smaller classes in the elementary grades so teachers could give more individual attention to pupils.

LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  (headshots) Davis, Nash. GRAPHIC: Charts. 1. Where the 
          candidates stand. 2. About the candidates. 
KEYWORDS: MGR