ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Virginia is "ahead of the game" in the development of academic standards that are a centerpiece of President Clinton's education program, says Beverly Sgro, state secretary of education.
"We've already developed rigorous standards and a testing program," Sgro said Wednesday, reacting to Clinton's proposals in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Clinton called for national standards and proposed the development of national tests measuring fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math. But the standards would not be mandated by the federal government, he said.
Clinton also stopped short of saying the federal government would require students to be measured by national tests. He said it would be up to individual states and schools districts.
Virginia's testing program will measure students' performance in meeting the academic standards that were adopted 18 months ago, Sgro said.
The second part of the testing program will be a standardized exam that would compare Virginia students with the rest of the nation.
"We've got the whole package," Sgro said. "We're way ahead of where the president is on this."
Other states have contacted Virginia about its standards and testing program because they see them as a model, she said. The standards were part of Gov. George Allen's initiatives to raise academic performance.
Ninety-three percent of Virginia's school divisions will fully implement the new standards within the next two years, according to a new survey by the state Department of Education.
A majority of the 133 school systems already have incorporated the standards in math, science, English and social studies or will complete the changes by next year.
With small exceptions, school officials said, Roanoke Valley schools are teaching the concepts and skills in the new standards this year.
"Except for a couple of courses in social studies, we've fully implemented them," said Vella Wright, director of research, testing and evaluation for Roanoke schools.
The standards required the greatest changes in history and social studies, including the addition of new courses and shifting of others to different grades.
"We're well on our way," said Garland Life, senior director of instruction for Roanoke County schools. "I'd like to think we'd be 100 percent there by next year."
"Teachers and administrators have done a terrific job of implementing the new academic standards," said Richard LaPointe, state superintendent of public instruction.
"They are working with their community, assessing and sharpening their local curriculum, wrestling with instructional issues, incorporating technology, and, when needed, adopting new ways of teaching.''
The standards are benchmarks of knowledge and skills that students are expected to know in core subjects at each grade level.
Students will be tested in grades three, five, eight and 11 in all four subjects. The tests will cover content in each subject in the grades between tests. The 11th-grade tests, for instance, will cover material that the students studied in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades.
Field testing for the new standards will begin in April, but the scores this year will not be released. They will be used only for determining the validity of the tests and establishing scoring guidelines.
Besides the core subjects, the students will be tested on their computer and technology skills in the fifth and eighth grades.
Other findings of the state survey include:
* More than 90 percent of the school divisions have conducted workshops and other training for teachers and school administrators on the standards.
* Relatively few additional teachers and other staff members have been hired as a result of the standards. Nearly 80 percent of the school divisions reported hiring no additional staff.
* Localities have used a variety of federal, state and local funds to pay for implementing the standards.
School divisions identified three main obstacles in switching to the new standards: lack of funding, a short time to make the changes, and lack of information about the testing program.
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