[BHS etree] ADMIN: STAR TESTING schedule below

[bhs at idiom.com]

contact: Rory Bled [mailto:rbled at berkeley.k12.ca.us]

Below is the schedule for next week's STAR testing.  Please note that
testing begins on Tuesday and goes through Friday. Seniors will not be
tested, so they should come to school after lunch, unless they have special
instructions to come at another time (orchestra rehearsal for example).
Ninth graders will not be tested on Friday, so they should come to school
after lunch on that day only.

Please encourage all your children to participate in STAR testing and to do
their very best. To quote Michele Lawrence once again:

Our goal is to educate every child. Thus test results are an important
measure to ensure that our efforts to improve instruction have been
fruitful. Comprehensive testing data, including what the state requires,is
important in order to track how well we are meeting the academic needs of
our students
. These tests do help staff at the site level, and at the
district level, know where to target efforts and resources for instruction.
They also inform us about how BUSD students are doing in comparison with
other students in the state. Additionally, and while I am no fan of the
majority of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, the law requires every
school to have a 95% testing participation rate in every sub group. Failure
to do so, even if the school's overall achievement was high, penalizes the
school and puts them at risk of having to shift financial resources away
from the school and all students, to outside agencies or private
corporations. This is hardly the time to take money away from schools. In
essence, local control is lost and schools and our district are unfairly
labeled as
"underperforming" when they/we are not. This label comes about through the
legal exercise of your "choice" to exempt your student, and even a few
students at each school who exercise this option can hurt all who don't.


Thank you,
Rory Bled

Berkeley High School
STAR Testing Schedule
April 26th-29th, 2005


Tuesday April 26th  STAR Schedule
CST English Language Arts (ELA)
8:30-12:00	Testing
12:00-12:50	LUNCH
12:56-1:39	Period 1
1:45-2:27	Period 2
2:33-3:15	Period 3
*Seniors come to school at 12:56

Wednesday April 27th
CST Math
8:30-12:00	Testing
12:00-12:50	LUNCH
12:56-1:39	Period 4
1:45-2:27	Period 5
2:33-3:15	Period 6
*Seniors come to school at 12:56

Thursday April 28th
CST Science
8:30-11:05	Testing
11:05-11:55	LUNCH
12:01-1:03	Period 1
1:09-2:09	Period 2
2:15-3:15	Period 3
*Seniors come to school at 12:01
Friday April 29th

CST History   **10th/11th grdrs only
8:30-11:05	Testing
11:05-11:55	LUNCH
12:01-1:03	Period 4
1:09-2:09	Period 5
2:15-3:15	Period 6
* 9th Graders and Seniors
 come to school at 12:01
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