Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 149, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 21, 1999 Page: 3 of 14
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CHEROKEEAN/HERALD of Rusk, Texas—Thursday, January 21,1999—Page 3
Letters To the Editor
Bill Clinton Should Be
Impeached
T. Edmundson
I think the U.S. Senate should
impeach President Clinton be-
cause he went on national televi-
sion and told a lie to the people.
If he hadn't lied about it, I don't
think they should do anything to
him.
Terry Edmundson
Rusk High School
government/economics
student
Reader Is Kin-Searching
Confederate Gun Factory
I have been researching the life of George Washing-
ton Hager, and the Gideon family. The Gideons were
settlers of Cherokee County, having owned Spanish
Land grants. G.W. Hager married a daughter, Julia
Ann Gideon.
I have a notion that G.W. Hager, had some thing to
do with the Confederate Gun Factory, which I believe
was at Rusk. Have you or any of your readers any
records of this place?
Frank Covey
Oregon
covey@budget.net
Writer Needs Addresses of Elected Officials
Some months back, you had in the paper the
names and addresses for our state and national
elected officials
I've never written anybody, but would like to
now.
Would it be possible to put this back in the
paper?
Will James
Rusk
Elected Officials
President Bill Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500
president@whitehouse.gov
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
Washington, D.C. 20510
District office:
1919 Smith St., Suite 800
Houston, Tex. 77002
senator@hutchison.senate.gov
Sen. Phil Gramm
370 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510-4302
District office:
Nations Bank Bldg.
Suite 201
Tyler, Tex. 75702
Rep. Jim Turner
208 Cannon House office Bid.
Washington, D.C. 20515
phone: 202-225-5955
District office
701 N. 1st St, Room 201
Lufkin, Tex. 75901
Gov. George W. Bush
State Capitol
Austin, Tex. 78701
www.governor.state.tx.us
Lt. Gov. Rick Perry
State Capitol
P.O. Box 12068
Austin, Tex. 78711-2068
www.senate.statetx.vs/75r/ltgov/
feedback.htm
Sen. Drew Nixon
State Senator-District 3
P.O. Box 12068 Capitol Station
Austin, Tex. 463-0103
District office:
320 North Street, Suite 301
Nacogdoches, Tex. 75961
(409) 564-4252
Drew.Nixon@senate.state.tx.us
Rep. Todd Staples
State Representative-Dist. 11
P.O. Box 2910, Capitol Station
Austin, Tex. 78768-2910
(512) 463-0592
district office:
P.O. Box 257
Palestine, Tex.
Stella Hill Library receives
Brokaw's 'Generation' book
By Virginia Singletary
SPECIAL TO THE CHEROKEEAN/HERALD
If you enjoyed Tom Brokaw's
excellent TV presentation on "The
Greatest Generation" last Friday
night, you might want to check out
his book of the same name. It
contains the stories he used and
many more highlighting the ordi-
nary people who grew up during
the depression, served in World
War II and came back to live nor-
mal productive lives. This book is
currently #1 on the New York
Times Non-fiction Best Seller List.
The Stella Hill Public Library in
Alto also has available the num-
ber one bestselling fiction book,
Tom Wolfe's "A Man in Full." Wolfe
is a genius at making readers feel
what his characters are feeling,
and at the same time appreciate
the irony of the situations. At 750
pages, it is not a quick read, but it
is definitely worth the trouble.
Other best-sellers at the library
are: "The Poisonwood Bible" by
Barbara Kingsolver and "Welcome
To The World, Baby Girl" by Fannie
Flagg.
The Stella Hill Library is open
on Tuesday and Thursday from 1
to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m.
Guest Commentary
What Gets Tested Gets Taught in Public School
By Mike Moses
SPECIAL TO THE CHEROKEEAN/HERALD
Texas students and teachers are making im
pressive annual gains on the Texas Assess
ment of Academic Skills (TAAS) tests, and
Texas is one of two states realizing the largest
average gains on reading and mathematics tests
administered by the National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress (NAEP), known as "the nation's
report card." Even though we are succeeding, we
must not become complacent. We can expect
even more of our schools, and our schools can
expect more of their students.
On Dec. 4, I announced my proposal for ex-
panding our state's student assessment program
to raise the bar of academic achievement for
Texas students. My proposal calls for expanding
the assessment program at both the elementary
and secondary levels to provide a more compre-
hensive picture of the academic achievement of
Texas students. I have recommended moving
the exit-level test to the 11th grade and expand-
ing the exit-level test to include science and
social studies in addition to reading, writing, and
mathematics. Additionally, I propose eliminat-
ing the four end-of-course exams (algebra, biol-
ogy, history and English) and incorporating the
content of those exams into the 11th grade exit-
level test. My plan calls for testing in all five-core
subject areas at 10th grade and assessing read-
ing and mathematics at ninth grade. This ex-
panded assessment at the secondary level will
provide Texans with a much broader panorama
of student performance in high school. As I travel
throughout the state, many business leaders and
parents of high school students have advised me
that it's time to raise the performance bar to
ensure that young Texas adults of the 21st cen-
tury are prepared academically for further edu-
cation and for the world of work.
My recommendations also call for adding a
social studies test at fourth grade, a science test
at fifth grade, and a writing test at sixth grade.
We need to provide our younger Texans with a
solid foundation in reading, writing, math, sci-
ence, and social studies upon which they can
build throughout their academic careers.
As you can see, the proposal that I have out-
lined increases the amount of state testing. We
must remember that TAAS increased the amount
of testing over its predecessor exam, the Texas
Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills
(TEAMS), and our students and teachers rose to
the challenge. With TAAS we have seen double-
digit gains in the performance of students of all
ethnic groups and economic backgrounds. I must
point out that the states of Texas and North
Carolina - both of which have comprehensive
assessment programs - surpassed all other states
in performance gains on NAEP, as noted in a
report entitled Exploring Rapid Achievement Gains
in North Carolina and Texas that was released
recently by the National Education Goals Panel.
In addition, the Goals Panel asserted that "gains
in academic achievement in both states are signifi-
cant and sustained." Currently Texas' state test-
ing program requires, on average, two or three
days of testing per year, and we assess in the five
core areas only at grade 8. My proposal will
increase the number of tests that some students
have to take, but I believe that this increase is
worth the price both in terms of the higher stan-
dards we will establish and the greater academic
"bang for our buck" that we will receive. I believe
that my proposal for an expanded assessment
program will allow us to set high, but not unattain-
able, standards.
Some critics may balk at the fact that my plan
increases the number of state-administered tests.
However, we have suggested eliminating the four
high school end-of-course tests, which will stream-
line assessment at the high school level and will
actually reduce the number of tests that some of
our tenth graders take currently. Critics may
assert that this new proposal will be more costly
than the current assessment program. Though
the costs will increase, we must remember that the
testing program in Texas constitutes substan-
tially less than one percent of all of our spending on
public education. Most assuredly, we obtain a
wealth of information about the performance of
our schools and students for this expenditure on
assessment.
During my tenure as commissioner, I have fully
comprehended that what gets tested gets taught.
Testing is an integral part of the learning process.
All of us are tested every day at work and at home.
The state tests that our students take in school
mirror the curriculum that they must learn. When
students are learning their daily lessons, they are
preparing for tests. Teachers are not expected to
just "teach the test." However, teaching children
the objectives over which they will be tested is fair
and appropriate.
Assessment is a key component of education
since it confirms what we know and points out
where we need to learn more. Given the societal
and academic expectations of the 21st century, we
must prepare our students. We must arm our
students with the advanced level of learning that
they will need —whether they assemble comput-
ers, teach children, or serve as* corporate CEOs.
Paving the way for our children's future is our job;
ensuring their success is our legacy. It's time to
raise the bar.
Dr. Mike Moses is the commissioner of the Texas
Education Agency.
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 149, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 21, 1999, newspaper, January 21, 1999; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152408/m1/3/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.