Today, the state school board is expected to approve a new curriculum for social studies. Education officials hope the revisions will help turn-the-tide on the more than 70-percent failure rate of 6th and 7th graders last year. Over the summer, on-line public comment was taken on the proposed update. Dana Tofig with the Department of Education:
"Some people may say, 'well, the school year has begun and how can you introduce new standards when the school year has begun?'. These standards aren't so radically different. It's a lot of the same material covered in the 6th and 7th grade before...it's just a little more precise".
Training on the new material for teachers begins later this month.
Meanwhile, numbers in from summer re-testing on the math portion of the CRCT show another 19,000 rising high school freshmen passed. That improved the statewide pass-rate from 62, to 77-percent for the year.
"Some people may say, 'well, the school year has begun and how can you introduce new standards when the school year has begun?'. These standards aren't so radically different. It's a lot of the same material covered in the 6th and 7th grade before...it's just a little more precise".
Training on the new material for teachers begins later this month.
Meanwhile, numbers in from summer re-testing on the math portion of the CRCT show another 19,000 rising high school freshmen passed. That improved the statewide pass-rate from 62, to 77-percent for the year.
