Weld: School standards plan is 'a retrograde step'
By Glen Johnson
AP Political Writer / July 20, 2010
AP Political Writer / July 20, 2010
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BOSTON—Former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld, who signed the state's landmark 1993 education overhaul into law, is criticizing proposed changes in the public school math and English curriculum.
Weld told The Associated Press that swapping state standards for proposed national ones is "a retrograde step" and a precursor to eliminating the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, tests in both of those subject areas.
"It would be madness to eliminate the MCAS test," Weld said Monday in a telephone interview from his New York law firm. "A lot of blood was spilled, partly during my regime and moreso when (Paul) Cellucci was governor, to preserve the MCAS."
He said that test, a key component of the 1993 law, is responsible for driving Massachusetts students to top finishes in national achievement tests.
RI ACLU wants public school preyer banner removed
RI ACLU wants public school preyer banner removed
The American Civil Liberties Union says a banner with a prayer on it that hangs in the auditorium at Cranston High School West may be in violation of the First Amendment and wants it taken down.
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