JENNIFER ELKINS, a Grade 8 student at Skeena ur. Secondary, uses a library computer to answer an on-line reading quiz. She's in
an accelerated reader program that's in its second year at the school — one of the district's efforts to improve literacy. Students like
Elkins read books and then take the computer quiz to measure reading comprehension of the titles ae ve read. JEFF NAGEL PHOTO

‘Testing, testing

~ Student literacy continues to slide here in spite of efforts to promote reading

By JENNIFER LANG
READING SCORES in the Coast
Mountains School District have
dropped for the third year in a row
despite efforts to improve literacy,
an annual government test of
basic skills shows.

The decline in reading compre-
hension skills can be seen in all
three prades tested, but it seems
to get worse in the higher grades,

Fully. 38 per cent of Grade 7
and 10 students tested here failed

atormeet education ministry: expec-

-tationsawhenlit coines to ‘reading,. |

raccording'to:the Foundation: Skills,
Assessment 2002, or FSA.
“That’s a deterioration from
~ 2000. — the -year alarm bells went
off across the district about liter-
acy skills ~ when 30 per cent of
Grade 7s and Grade 10s failed to
read at their grade level
The. assessment was given 10
more than 150,000 students across
B.C. in Grades 4, 7, and 10 last
May.
Independent schools and
French Immersion students also
take part.
B.C.-wide, 29 per cent of Grade
10 students are failing to read at
their grade level.

Grade 7s not meeting expectations

50-7"

| Reading
45 -fn BB writing
40- Numeracy
35-7
% 30-18
25-9
20-18 + tay dar
Pity east i
ed BT E
egyaieys 10- . 4 bain 1 woe a, ? rie tid
Clarence Copper Thornhill © Uplands — Diatrict B.C.
Hall Michiel Mountain Elem. average average
a plan to establish a guideline | Reading - Students not meating expectations |
that primary students must spend
40 per cent of the school day on Wi rade 4
literacy activities.
The ‘assessment, which debuted a Grade ?
in 2000, has been criticized for EI Grade 10

not taking socio-economic and
cultural factors inte account.

The education ministry cau-
tions against using the results to
compare different schools or
school districts.

The ministry says the

That's up from 21 per
-cent the year before.

The district aver-
age shows 28 per
cent of Grade 10s
tested aren’t writing
to their grade expec-
tations, and 40 per
cent didn’t meet ex-
pectations for numer-
acy skills.

“You have to
‘keep in mind that
it is a snapshot.
Just give it time
now for trends to
be established, to
see if there is im-
provement.”

important factor is
whether -a_ school
compares well with
its own results over
lime.

The FSA is designed
(o became a bench-
mark for comparison,
but it’s still too soon
to tell if individual
students are improv-

~ The district aver-
age lags behind the provincial re-
sults in reading, writing and num-

- eracy skills for all three grades
tested, although the performance
of individual schools varied,

The Grade 7s fared better at
writing, with 31 per cent riot
‘Meeting expectations — but 35 per
-cent aren’t making the grade in
numeracy skills,

In Grade 4, 33 per cent of stu-
dents tested didn’t meet reading
expectations, and 28
per cent didn’t meet
humeracy expecta-
tions,

‘Curiously, the
Grade ds performed
well on the writing
portion of the FSA,
with a district aver-
age of just il per
cent not meeting ex-
pectations.

The school-by-
school and district re-
sults are available at
_ the education mini-
' gtry’s web site.

‘Low reading
_ scores three years
ago prompted the school board to
“champion literacy as the district’s
“umber-one priority.

Since then, the district has

- built: on a range of existing liter- -

acy ‘programs and introduced new
Ones,

Randy
Smalbrugge

AS: ‘recently as. last» ‘month, ve
- seh, ‘trustees: pushed ahead with

ing or falling behind,
says Superintendent of schools
Randy Smailbrugge.

That’s because no students
have taken the FSA twice — yet,

Smallbrugge said the first
Grade 4 and 7 students to take the
FSA in its current form back in
2000 will be: tested this coming
spring in Grades 7 and 10,

“Right now, we're just compar-
ing apples to oranges, because
every time you have an FSA, you
have a new cohort,”
he said,

He advises parents
to be patient wait to
see whal kinds of

the long term,

“You have to keep
in mind that it is a
snapshot,” he said.
“Just give it time
now for trends to be
f established, to see if
there is improvement
and to see if the ac-
countability contract
makes an impact.”
He and other Coast
Mountains officials
advocate following individual stu-

dents on a year-to-year basis

through standardized testing,
Meanwhile, parents shouldn't

be alarmed by this year’s FSA re-.

sults — we-are not failing our siu-

‘dents, he said.
’ For: one: thing; more’ students 2
- are ‘graduating | from high school,

trends emerge over —

2000 2001

District averages

2002

Writing - Students not mesting expectations |
ass

407 -
35-4 --
30 -}-
9 25-4
20 -}--
15 |.

10"

2000 20H

q
District averages

| Grade 4
| Grade 7
Grade 10

2002

| Numeracy - Studente not meeting expectations |

2000

District averages
2001

| Grade 4
| Grade 7
Grade 10

2002 !

than ever before.

B.C,’s educalion system conti-
nues ‘to stack up well against
other provinces, especially in how
students perform in certain Sub-
jects.

It-also compares favourably

With other countries.

_ > “From a Canadian perspective

and from a globat perspective, we
certainly have nothing to be. ash-

Aystemn.” as

added to’ the roster in Asia. If our
- System. is so. bad, they wouldn’t be
- dinterested," he’ said: “It's. because ;
cage have a good product." Mee

amed: of here. in'B. Cc! s education’

Smallbrugge said B.C. has en-
joyed success when it comes to
exporting its education curriculum
to other countries.

Several “Lower. Mainland
school districts are forming a cor-
poration that will self curriculum ©
overseas. —

“Twenty.new schools are being

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 9, 2002 - A5

The Mail Bag

Let her rest, please

Dear Sir:

I am the late RoxAnne Campbell’s sister and | am
writing this letter in response to the “Murder mystery
deepens” article of Oct. 2, 2002.

We have been the victims of a terrible tragedy and
our family is in the process of healing from a great
loss. It has been extremely disturbing and upsetting to
read the articles that have been written,

It is important for-me to clarify a few points, as
well as put the focus where it needs to be. Firstly, the
investigation has been conducted in an extremely
thorough manner and we are very pleased with the
RCMP efforts. The investigation is now closed. There
is na murder mystery.

All community members should find comfort in the
fact thal the RCMP are doing a great job and are
sincerely caring about the feelings of the surviving
family members.

It is our family belief that RoxAnne should be
allowed to rest in peace and dignity and it is our hope
that everyone can respect this value.

We thank the Terrace and Prince George
investigative units in regards to the investigation and
the support offered in our time of need.

We can only hope that other people could show
this type of care and concern when a family is going
through the grieving process.

DeeDee Tashoots, Terrace, B.C,

Fish farms queried

An open letter to:
David Anderson,
Federa! Minister of the Environment

In accordance with the Environmental Protection
Act, it is an offence by law under the criminal code
to release any harmful substances into the
environment.

Under this protection act, municipalities are forced
by government-imposed laws to spend multi millions
of public taxpayers’ money to build and upkeep
human waste treatment
plants to protect the
environment against
pollution.

In view of
environment ministry
questionable policies to
enforce the
“Environment Protection
Act,” could you please
send our society the
following information? —

1. Why does the
public sector need &
human waste treatment |
plants to protect the
“environment against
pollution and ocean |

erating , salmon ,farms..
ee the approval from Alois Schillinger

the government ‘to: discharge millions of tons

“untreated “antibiotic: contaminated and. diseased

infested fish waste into the ocean without treatment
plants effecting the wild fish population.

2. Can your ministry give our society an exact
definition on what is the difference between fish
waste and human waste. ;

3. Why do the salmon farms not need treatment
plants to discharge their fish waste into the ocean and
municipalities do?

4. Why are municipalities and private individuals
charged under the Environmental Protection Act. and
salmon farms are not.

Alois Schillinger,
Watershed BloEnhancement Society,
Terrace, B. C.,

Saddam’s secret plan

Dear Sir:

America thinks it can go it alone apainst Saddam
Hussein in Iraq; but I think the US has been played
like a puppet by the desperate despot since the Gulf
War. Saddam, who thinks he’s the reincarnation of
the ancient Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, has
been rebuilding that ancient city since the mid-80s.
Babylon was once considered one of the nine wonders
of the world until it degenerated into decay and ruin.

Just as Hitler tried to revive the ancient Teutonic
reichs and Italy’s Mussolini tried to revive the glory
of ancient Rome — so Saddam sees his calling in
Babylon. Today the ancient Gate of. Ishtar has been

rebuilt ‘and. the walls which once surrounded the

ancient city are again up.

If Saddam gets his way Babylon might once more
be the city state that.drives the economic engines of
the Mideast, as it did in ancient times.

A war with Iraq would mean two-things. It would

--alienate U.S. interests throughout the Middle East,

leaving Saddam more popular than“ever. As President
Bush has been warned, “It will open the gates to
hell”. And all Saddam has to.do is populate his new
city state out of the ruins: of Americans bombing
Baghdad back. to Babylon. =’ a

Brian Gregg, Terrace, B.C.

| s urban decay

“Aside from the stupid kids who toss their garbage

~ and the drunks their cans, why does lower Kenney,
~ across from the mill, look like such a slum?

Is this to embarrass. Veniez into signing? Is this’a
cultivated look of destitution? Where is the Terrace

Beautification Society?.

But don’t work too. fast..I have come to like the
banana box. It has an interesting rate of decay.
a _- Dave Helnimann, Terrace, B.C.

About the Mail Bag

The Terrace Standard wetcomes tetters. Our
address is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C, V8G
5A2. You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or 6-maill
us at standard@kermode.nat. No attachments,
please. We need your name, address. and
phone number for verification. Our deadilne is

“noon Friday: or. noon: v Thursday: us Its: a: ‘ong
~ weekend.) oben