News from Oct. 4, 2007 issue

Local News
The Crittenden Press (5 pages) PDF
(Selected pages 1A, 3A, 10A, 11A, 12A)
WARNING: PDF files will take longer to download, especially on low-speed ISPs.

School test scores are in ...
Confusion is likely to reign in regard to this year's accountability scores for Kentucky schools due to changes made in the testing procedures.
Despite the murky waters, Crittenden County as a school district showed improvements above the average statewide progress. Only the high school failed to move ahead of last year's overall performance, though the drop-off was slight.
"We are proud of the continuous improvements that we are making," Tonya Driver, assessment coordinator, said in a release.
Due to the numerous changes in the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) data, schools are being given two scores this year – one is a raw score and the other is an adjusted mark. A school's raw test score has been changed this year to meet federal and legislative requirements. For purposes of transition into next year's scoring, the adjusted score is used to measure a school's progress from the previous year.
As a district, Crittenden improved 3.8 points from 2006 to 82.8. Statewide, the average was 81.8 in 2007, up only 2.6 points. Kentucky has a goal for all schools to reach proficiency by 2014. Proficiency is set for 100 on a 160-point scale.
Last month, the district reached only 11 of its 13 federal No Child Left Behind goals. This was the fourth consecutive year the district failed to meet its federal mark. But NCLB is either pass or fail, drawing the ire of some in the distirct. The federal measuring stick does not take into account the 84.6-percent success rate of the district in meeting its goals.
Among changes to CATS this year are new score ranges and math and reading tests have been added at several grade levels. Students were tested in grades 3-8 and 10-11 for reading, math, science, social studies, arts and humanities, practical living/vocational studies and writing. The tests were administered in April of this year.
As for the CATS results for individual schools, the elementary school improved from 83.9 last year to 88.9, up five points. CCES was the only of the county's three schools to exceed its improvement goal set for next year, which is 87.1.
Meantime, the middle showed the most improvement, jumping almost eight points from 2006 when the accountability index was 76.6. This year's score was 84.5. The statewide average was 84.5.
"This puts Crittenden County Middle School in the top 27 percent of middle schools in the state," Driver said.
This is good news for the school, which failed to meet all 10 of its NCLB measurements and must now offer its students the option to transfer to middle schools in Lyon or Livingston counties. Ironically, the overall scores at the middle schools in both of those counties were below that of CCMS. Livingston scored 73.9 and Lyon, 81.1.
CCHS did not fair as well as the state's high schools as a whole, falling 1.7 points below the state average and dropping 1.2 points from 2006 to 75.2. The high school, also, was the only of the three local institutions to have scores below 80 in any of the seven individual subject areas. The lowest score was a paltry 59.2 in math. Livingston Central High School was worse, however, scoring only 56.6 in math and 71.2 overall. 
As for the changes to this years testing and scoring, Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, said the changes should not make a difference in schools' abilities to reach their academic goals.
"The schools that are struggling, they're still going to have a struggle,'' Gross said. "This shouldn't make a dramatic difference in anybody's ability to reach that ultimate goal.''
Jim Waters, director of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy said the changes could inflate some scores and called it "grading on a curve at its worst.''

Classes offer certifications
Learn how to survive in the jungle or gaze at stars. Become certified to operate a forklift or grasp the art of building gingerbread house. Even check out tips on career direction or joining the National Guard.
Whether just for fun or completion of required continuing education, classes on these and numerous other topics will continue to be offered at the Marion Ed-Tech Center through December. Some autumn classes have already closed, but the majority remain open for registration.
"We had 11 people today for the forklift certification," Dulcie Hardin, education director at the center, said last Thursday. "We had two from Union County and four from Princeton."
Another forklift certification class will be conducted Nov. 29. At the end of the class taught by David Stooksbury of Black Equipment in Hopkinsville, drivers will receive their certification good for three years. Attendees, however, must be sponsored by an existing business. The cost is $59 and runs from 10 a.m., to 1 p.m.
And, early next month, an electrician and master electrician class will satisfy continuing education requirements for electrician license holders.
But, the community education classes aren't all business.
"A lot of them are job-related; a lot are just for fun," Hardin said.
Like building a gingerbread house or basket-making. Maybe even jungle survival!
"We've had cake decorating and making wreaths," Hardin said. "Pretty much whatever people suggest we try to find teacher for it."
However, the education director said some classes are having trouble getting filled, like upcoming sessions on fun with digital cameras and Web site that could be useful for parents of pre-school and elementary students.
"If we don't have at least four registered, we cancel the class," Hardin said.
Two upcoming classes will focus on working together as a team. Jungle Survival at 10, a.m., Oct. 16 ($10, registration closes Tuesday) and Orchestrating Team Performance at 9 a.m., Nov. 6 ($10, registration closes Oct. 30) are led by Judith Moore from Madisonville Community College.
Despite its title, there will be no trips to the Amazon for the survival class. Moore will simply show the finer points of team-building by letting teams learn what it takes to escape the jungle. The other class will focus on the role of team leaders and team members.
The Kentucky Army National Guard is offering two free courses on careers. A Nov. 1 class (6 to 8 p.m.) takes aim at ways to pay for a college education. The following week, on Nov. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m., questions about joining the National Guard will be answered by Staff Sgt. Aaron Davis, who will teach both classes.
Most classes require an early registration fee, but that would be refunded if a class is cancelled.
Upcoming classes include:
•Fun with Digital Cameras: $35; 5 to 8 p.m., Oct. 15 and 16; registration closes Monday.
•Proper E-mail Etiquette and Internet Resources: $17; 5 to 8 p.m., Oct. 22; registration closes Oct. 15.
•10 Top Web Sites for Parents of Preschool Children; $12; 11 a.m., to 1 p.m., Oct. 22; registration closes Oct. 15.
•10 Top Web Sites for Parents of Children Age Kindergarten through Third Grade: $12; 1 to 3 p.m., Oct. 22; registration closes Oct. 15.
•Moongazing: $11; 7:30 to 10 p.m., Oct. 16; registration ends Tuesday. This course will be held at Rocket Arena.
•Cell Phone Basics: $9; 6:30 to 8 p.m., Oct. 15; registration ends Monday.
•Cell Phones – More Than Basics: $9; 6:30 to 8 p.m., Oct. 29; registration ends Oct. 22.
"They'll show you how to check the weather and e-mail," Hardin said of the two cell phone classes. "Some people don't know how to send a text message."
•College Entrance and Financial Aid: Free; 11 a.m., to 2 p.m., Nov. 29.
•Electrician and Master Electrician Continuing Education: $66, 8:30 a.m., to 3:30 p.m., Nov. 3.
•Make a Basket – Basket Lane: $29; 10 a.m., Nov. 10; registration closes Nov. 1.
•Holiday Foods: $5; 9:30 a.m., Dec. 21; registration closes Dec. 13.
•Ginderbread House Class; $28; two separate classes from 10 a.m., to noon, both Dec. 1 and 3; registration closes Nov. 21.
For more information on any of these classes, contact Hardin at 965-9294 or visit www.CrittendenCounty
EDC.com.