January 14, 2006

AT LENGTH

CIM/CAM uniquely focus on individuals

By Steve Haskell, Ph.D
Retired Director of Student Services for Jackson County School District No. 6
Ashland

Not that long ago the business community gathered nationally to advocate for reform in public schools. More reliable and valid measures of student knowledge than grades and a diploma were called for.

President Clinton subsequently set national goals which included state assessment systems linked to grade-level curriculum. Oregon took a leadership role in this effort. The result is the current Oregon Statewide assessment program for individual students. How one does on these measures determines whether or not a CIM can be achieved during the high school years.

Oregon also initiated a Report Card for schools and districts based on factors including student achievement, participation in tests, attendance, and other district level factors. Turns out the requirements for Adequate Yearly Progress for schools found in the reauthorization of federal aid to poverty schools, known as No Child Left Behind, include many of the same pieces of data as the Report Card.

The CIM/CAM standards are met individually, just as grades and a high school diploma. The NCLB requirements and the Oregon Report Card are applied to a school and a district. There may be a time, as has happened in other states, when statewide assessments used to measure knowledge of subject matter become part of an individual’s graduation requirement. We’ll see.

The state reform effort to establish credible standards (CIM/CAM) has been labor intensive and has met with mixed reviews. The funds needed to fully implement the reform have not been made available to districts based on the costs projected in the Quality Education Model. Currently, the statewide Report Card for 2004-05 for 10th-graders shows 56 percent of students meeting the standard in reading knowledge and skills, 49 percent in math. The percentages are higher in the earlier grades.

The appearance is that with the expansion of federal requirements under NCLB to cover all schools for assessment and reporting purposes and corrective action possible for funded schools that don’t meet AYP goals, with a minority of students statewide earning a CIM, and with the restraints currently on school funding, there might be a shift more toward looking at school- and district-level performance and away from the individual student. Dropping the CIM/CAM reforms would be a major step in that direction. You can judge whether this is good or bad for kids.

Mt. A should remain steep and cheap

By Pete Toogood
Ashland

Mt. Ashland is preparing to make a major expansion, but is unable to satisfactorily handle the current crowd levels. December was a difficult month for Mt. A operations. Weather was the primary reason for this, but even on the rare sunny day, there were problems with parking and keeping the lifts operational.

The mountain opened Dec. 9, 10 and 11, and then elected to close the 12th through the 15th for financial reasons. This was a slap in the face to season pass holders who had paid upfront in good faith and wanted to ski on those days.

The leading argument for expansion is the need for easier terrain. As a former 13-year employee and devoted Mt. A. skier since 1974, I have, on countless times, watched kids ski, board and crash down the black-diamond Ariel chair their first day on the hill. It is very difficult, but the only whining about the terrain comes from the adults. In this age of convenience and instant gratification, isn’t it wonderful that we have something difficult to challenge us?

The most common complaint about Mt. A. is inadequate parking and keeping the lifts operational. Instead of expanding, let’s address the parking issues, replace the dysfunctional 41-year-old Ariel chair, put a short chair on the poma hill for race training, and make Mt. A. the best little hill it can be within the existing boundaries.

How much are tickets going to be if the $6 to $18 million expansion goes through? Do we need to further desecrate the bowl, a glacial cirque and sacred spot, with a lift terminal and “a full service alpine chalet-style rest stop,” when on weekends and holidays it is already difficult to find parking?

Take a walk or ski through the proposed expansion and marvel at the beauty and wildness of the place. Please, let’s leave it alone and keep Mt. A. steep and cheap.

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