Science scores nothing to brag about
In her Oct. 27 Review-Journal article, “Nevada students fall short in science test scores,” Amelia Park-Harvey wrote that “average eighth-grade science scores … jumped from 141 to 149 since 2009.” An 8-point increase in seven years is certainly not a jump. It is more appropriate to say the scores crawled, barely moved or crept.
One recent article I read noted that graduation rates were up, while another revealed that test scores for high school students are down. Apparently the higher graduation rate was a result of lowering standards, not greater achievement.
A minuscule increase in science scores for eighth graders and no increase for fourth graders are further indicators that the school district is failing in its job to provide a quality education.
Troy Pyles
St. George, Utah
Different agendas
Voters should understand the 2016 election will determine the future of our progeny. The Democrat and Republican parties have very different agendas effecting our nation’s future.
The D’s have and continue to advocate more government spending, regulation and interference in the lives of citizens. For example, they have imposed Obamacare, failed to enforce existing immigration laws, showed no concern while the national debt and unfunded liabilities grew by trillions of dollars every year, advocated taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, instructed schools to open unisex toilets, and nominated a presidential candidate with a 25-year history of corruption, scandal, unfulfilled political promises and no accomplishments (other than getting elected and rich).
The R’s have and continue to argue for less government spending and regulation and more individual freedom. They have stood in opposition to the policies supported by the D’s. Every R in Congress voted against Obamacare. Their presidential nominee is not a member of the Washington, D.C., establishment elite, a professional politician or the subject of multiple congressional investigations.
Think about the government your children will inherit when you vote.
Allen Hawkes
Las Vegas
School fate
Every now and then, in pursuit of taxpayer savings, government entities — such as the school district — blunder. The future of John C. Fremont Middle School has become such a case.
Fremont is located near the corner of Maryland Parkway and St. Louis Avenue. It serves the historic Huntridge and Beverly Green neighborhoods, the Fifteenth Street area, and other areas. The school’s enrollment has dropped. While fewer sixth, seventh and eighth graders are in the zone, many young elementary students are present. They soon will be middle-school students.
The plan is to take down Fremont’s physical plant and replace it with an elementary school. This will leave a large gap requiring students to bus to William Orr Middle School on Maryland Parkway, or J.D. Smith Middle School four miles north.
No neighborhood middle school will exist. One could speculate as to the real reasons for this change.
J.C. Fremont is currently a “professional development school” in partnership with UNLV. It has many excellent programs and utilizes the “family writing project.” Excellent English language learner programs and extracurricular activities exist there. Many dedicated and excellent master teachers and fantastic young teachers work at Fremont.
It is time to be creative. Perhaps a split K-8 campus could evolve. Please, let’s look before we leap.
D.B. Holland
Henderson
