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HARRISBURG Pennsylvanias experiment with a high-stakes student test remains in limbo as state lawmakers digest the impact of the latest changes in education policy from Washington.

The Senate and House education committees held a joint hearing last week on the impact of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act signed in 2015 by former President Barack Obama. This law outlines how states are to establish student performance goals in public schools and hold schools accountable for academic progress. Its the successor to the No Child Left Behind Act, which put more emphasis on teaching to pass tests.

In Washington, Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trumps education secretary and school choice advocate, said she wants to give states more flexibility in meeting the laws goals.

ESSA was passed with broad bipartisan support to move power away from

Washington, D.C., and into the hands of those who are closest to serving our nations students, she said.

Pennsylvania developed the statewide Keystone Exams in algebra, biology and literature for high school seniors in 2013 as part of the trend toward greater emphasis on tests to measure academic achievement.

A year ago, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law delaying use of the Keystone Exams as a high school graduation requirement until the 2018-19 academic year. The delay reflects concerns among lawmakers of both parties about whether the Keystone Exams are a fair or reliable marker for graduation. Meanwhile, legislative proposals are emerging to provide alternatives to the Keystone Exams.

Pennsylvania is required to provide one statewide test in high school under ESSA, said Casey Smith, a spokeswoman for the state education department. Pennsylvania uses the Keystone Exams for that purpose, but the law doesnt require states to use tests as a graduation requirement, she said.

Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19, West Chester, ranking Democrat on the Senate education committee, is an outspoken critic of what he calls the testing obsession.

We are spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on testing skills while some school districts dont even have the resources to properly educate students on the subjects upon subjects for which they are being tested, said Dinniman. The Keystone Exam is part of that testing program.

The senator said tests are appropriate for diagnostic purposes and to help students learn.

Dinniman plans to introduce a bill soon to replace the Keystone Exams with the SAT, a standard test used widely for college admission purposes.

Using the SAT would be less expensive, easier to administer and give a wider range of students a chance to obtain scholarships, said Dinniman.

Pennsylvania should take a more flexible approach to tests and provide school districts with the resources to help students master the test material, said Sen. John Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Twp.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association called recently for formally removing the Keystone Exams as a graduation requirement.

We strongly support making the Keystone Exams delay permanent, said PSEA President Jerry Oleksiak. When there is too much emphasis on standardized testing, it gets in the way of teaching and learning.

Sen. Robert Tomlinson, R-6, Bensalem, is drafting legislation allowing local schools to determine how the Keystone Exams are used to measure achievement.

The House unanimously approved legislation earlier this month to give career and technical education students an alternative to taking the Keystone Exam as a graduation requirement. The measure going to the Senate would allow these students to obtain an industry-based competency certification instead.

Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, Pottsville, a key bill supporter, said this alternative recognizes the need for a diverse workforce to expand the economy.

Contact the writer:

rswift@timesshamrock.com

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Keystone Exams a work in progress - Scranton Times-Tribune

By Tendai Marima

Human Rights Watch this week warned of a potential "lost generation" of Central African Republic (CAR) children, with armed groups and peacekeepers taking up residence in schools and preventing students from attending. Four years since the then-Slka rebels overran the presidential palace and seized power from President Francois Boziz, the country is still plagued by surges of violence that, if allowed to continue, could severely undermine international efforts toward recovery.

Last year's election of President Faustin-Archange Touadra offered hope for stability, but 13 months laterthe state still lacks the capacity to establish authority beyond the capital, Bangui. Continuing clashes between rebel groups fighting for political power, ethnic superiority, and resource control increasingly threaten peace and security.

Aspike in violencein recent months has seen the tone of fighting shift from the Muslim against Christian nature of the immediate post-coup period to one more strongly driven by ethnic differences and old intercommunal grudges. These localized tensions, mainly in the northeast and northwest of the country, have seen civilians targeted or conscripted by splintered factions, on the basis of local identities. The United Nations estimates that more than 200 people have been killed and over 100,000 displaced in the past six months.

In the northeast, frequent clashes between the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC), a collective of rebels mainly from the Fulani Muslim group, and the Popular Front for the Renaissance in the Central African Republic (FPRC), a movement of far northeastern Muslims from the Gula and Runga tribes, have producedscores ofcasualtiesand deepened political tensions. The roots of the friction lie partly in the struggle for control of a reunited Slka movement.

The FPRC is led by Noureddine Adam, the second-in-command to Michel Djotodia, the Slka president who toppled Boziz. Last October, the group acquired the support of other ex-Slka factions, but the UPC is unwilling to cede its power, which extends to the southeast of the country. Here the rival militias haveengaged in severalclashes, one of which killedtwo Moroccan peacekeepers. Obo, the capital of the southeastern Haut-Mbomou prefecture is also threatened by smaller local militias and thecontinuing presenceof the Lord's Resistance Army, led by Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony.

For the FPRC, control of a reinvigorated Slka would increase its hold on the mineral-rich area's resources and also advance its proposal for a partitioned state called the Republic of Logone, or Dar El Kuti, with Adam serving as its leader.Analystswarn that a reunified Slka risks giving more legitimacy to the secessionist movement, which could in turn fuel more conflict.

In the northwest, a separate struggle is being by fueled the so-called 3R movement (return, reclamation, and rehabilitation), which controls an area along the remote border with Cameroon. Human Rights Watch estimates the grouphasdisplacedat least 17,000 people. 3R claims to protect the minority Peuhl nomadic herders from attacks as they move across the northwest and at times face barriers from more sedentary farmers. 3R accuses these other communities of cattle theft and charges that local administrators, allegedly aligned to the anti-Balaka---a rival rebel coalition to the ex-Slka---are complicit in the process. While disputes over land access and grazing rights have historically characterized CAR's communal relations, they now pose a more potent threat in terms of jeopardizing disarmament and reconciliation efforts.

Unlike past leaders, who were seen as marginalizing the north, Touadra regularly travels to the regions to encourage social cohesion and unity and has proposed a national dialogue with CAR's main armed nonstate actors. 3R, led by General Sidiki Abass, has announced the group's commitment to the peace process and is among the 12 rebel groups participating in the national "disarmament, demobilization, reinsertion, and repatriation" (DDRR) program.

While some progress has been made, the DDRR process requires funding to become operational. Recent internationalpledgescovered only $20 million of the estimated $45 million needed for the three-year program period. The proposed scheme would include up to 7,000 ex-combatants and is part of the Touadra regime's larger five-yearNational Recovery and Peacebuilding Plan. The international community has pledged more than $2.2 billion in support of that plan, which focuses on reconciliation and the establishment of strong state institutions.

CAR's lingering security challenge may hamper any premature efforts at statebuilding. The withdrawal of France's Operation Sangaris last October left behind 12,870 troops of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission, who are struggling to assert their authority. The eastern towns ofBambariand Bria, for example, remain hotbeds of rebel activity and crime, despite beingsecuredby the mission. A high number of ex-fighters have not reintegrated into civilian life since the violence subsided. Outlying areas see frequent clashes over access to diamond mines, livestock routes, and grazing territory.

The absence of a fully functional national army compounds CAR's problems. The European Union iscurrently trainingmore than 8,000 soldiers of the Central African Armed Forces, with the first group of 750 expected to be ready for combat in mid-May. These troops are poorly equipped, however. The unit only has resources for 150 fighters and, due to the 2013 coup, CAR is currently under aninternational arms embargo. Touadra has appealed to the UN to issue a waiver to the ban, and the US hasofferedup to $8 million in military support if permitted, but the Security Council voted unanimously to roll it over for a further 12 months inJanuary this year.

The Councilmaintainsthat order must be restored in the army before rearmament can begin. This would require a single chain of command and an effective national weapon stockpile system, to increase accountability. At the peak of CAR's conflict, soldiers defected to the anti-balaka and the Slka and took their weapons with them. According to Security Council reports, arms continue to flow between CAR and neighboring Chad, the Sudans, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although Touadra is yet to provide an indication of how order might be restored, hehas saidthat he intends to relaunch his appeal to the UN.

Efforts toward restoring stability still seem a long way off. The nationwide lack of protection has enabled localized insurgencies to flourish, while more and more people continue to bedisplaced. One in five Central Africans have left their homes following four years of fighting, and half of the country's 4.6 million people remain in critical need of humanitarian aid. Despite promises made by Touadra, the changing nature of rebel struggles for power and wealth suggest far greater investment is required in national security and local peace and justice mechanisms if CAR is to make an effective long-term recovery.

Tendai Marima is an independent researcher and freelance journalist based in Southern Africa. Follow@i_amten

Originally Published in the Global Observatory

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CAR's mutating violence threatens recent political progress - Reliefweb

New York Times

A Wheelchair on Broadway Isn't Exploitation. It's Progress. - The ... New York Times Some people are calling Sam Gold's The Glass Menagerie manipulative. I call it vital theater. and more »

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A Wheelchair on Broadway Isn't Exploitation. It's Progress. - The ... - New York Times

On CBS News Face the Nation, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said that the Senate Intelligence Committees investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election has been going on for months.

A lot of work weve been doing predates the inauguration, Cotton, a member of the committee, told moderator John Dickerson. It predates the election. Because Russia has been trying to interfere with our political system for some time.

Play Video

CBS News political director and "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson discusses growing calls to launch an independent probe into possible ties b...

Both the Senate and House Intelligence Committees are probing Russian cyber activity and potential links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

According to Cotton, the investigation in the Senate has made significant progress.

In the Senate Intelligence Committee, were fairly far along in our inquiry, he said. Weve been preparing to conduct interviews. Were reviewing documents.

The Arkansas senator said that the ongoing Senate investigation of Russian interference has been concealed from the public because of its very classified, very sensitive material.

He referred to materials of such sensitivity that Ive never been given access to them and most members of the committee have never been given access to them before.

Last Monday, when FBI DirectorJames Comey testified before the House committee, he revealed that the agency began investigating possible Russian interference in July 2016.

Cotton was also asked whether the surprise announcement made last Wednesday by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-CA, about incidental collection of some communications possibly involving Mr. Trump and/or some people associated with his presidential campaign has affected the congressional investigations.

You know, the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are two different committees. We work in different ways, Cotton said. Im confident the Senate Intelligence Committee is going to do its work in a careful, deliberate, and bipartisan fashion, as we have been for the last several months.

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Tom Cotton says Senate is making progress on Russia investigation - CBS News

Shot in the head on the day after Christmas, a Macon woman progressed to enjoy a public tribute Friday night in her hometown.

This progress, it has to be a miracle, Brooklyn Rouse, 21, told media members at the the Gospel Extravaganza at Mercer University, according to the Macon Telegraph.Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Virgil Watkins presented Rouse with an award during the event.

I know its a miracle. It makes me feel blessed, thats all I can say. It makes me feel like a special person, like Im supposed to be here.

Rouse traveled from Atlanta, where she was being treated at Shepherd Center, which specializes in rehabilitation for people with spinal cord and brain injury problems, the newspaper reported.

Rouse was supposed to be off Dec. 26, but she volunteered to substitute for a co-worker at Papa Johns Pizza, the Telegraph reported. She was shot in the head at the front door of a house while delivering a pizza.

Jacob Elijah Miller, 19, is charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with the incident, officials said. Alisha Wilson, 27, is accused of placing a fake order to lure a driver to the address.

Eventually, Rouse said she wants to return to school at Georgia Military College, according to the Telegraph.

The truck crashed off I-575 during the morning rush hour killing a man in his 30's.

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Ga. pizza worker shot in head: Progress a 'miracle' - Atlanta Journal Constitution

A major contributing factor to my optimism for progress in the war against human trafficking is President Trumps promise to bring the full force and weight of the U.S. government to combat human trafficking (Sioux City Journal, March 7). He was the first presidential candidate of the 2016 election to sign the Childrens Internet Safety Presidential Pledge. Within the pledge is a promise to aggressively enforce existing federal laws to prevent the sexual exploitation of children online, including federal obscenity laws and child pornography laws. It also is a pledge to appoint an attorney general who will make prosecution of such laws a priority.

We have not had such a focus at this level for decades.

Peer-reviewed research and medical science confirms Internet pornography is a fueling factor in the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, violence against women ... and sex trafficking," according to a 2010 Witherspoon Institute report - "The social cost of pornography: A statement of findings and recommendations," written by Mary Eberstadt and Mary Ann Layden.

The national conversation is bringing domestic minor sex trafficking to the forefront through movies and television shows which gives impetus to the movement to end what is, in essence, human slavery. Domestic minor sex trafficking is an emerging health crisis which requires it be treated nationally as a high priority, according to an article written by Dana Kaplan and Kathleen Kemp written for the monthly Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter published in cooperation with Bradley Hospital in Riverside, R.I.

Another reason for optimism is the increase in collaboration taking place within the tri-state area across multiple jurisdictions. The internet and the interstate system facilitate the ease with which traffickers are able to slip in and out of cities without being detected. Because of this fluidity, information sharing is vital to dismantling sex trafficking networks. We see more sharing of information taking place across state lines today.

Shared Hope Internationals Protected Innocence Challenge Framework gives report cards on how states meet the challenge legislatively (sharedhope.org). Iowa, since 2014, remains at a B ranking, but Nebraska moved from a D to a B while South Dakota went from an F to a D. There is obviously more work to be done, but this report card provides a blueprint for states to bring their laws to the level needed for the protection of the innocent.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed SF 2258 into law effective July 1, 2016, creating a new child sex trafficking abuse code, implementing federal requirements from the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act which addresses human trafficking, and implementing federal requirements from the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 which provides services for survivors of sex trafficking.

The Siouxland Coalition Against Human Trafficking (SCAHT) continues to educate the community on all aspects of the human trafficking industry by providing speakers to community groups and having conferences open to the general public. If you do not understand the problem, you wont be able to be part of the solution.

SCAHT has collaborated with the Iowa Department of Social Services in securing training of its staff, Sioux City schools in educating teachers on the signs of sex trafficking, educating students in schools on the lures traffickers use to recruit young people, are in the process of contacting hotels/motels to train their staff, and is lobbying for legislation to make it easier to prosecute traffickers and buyers of commercialized sex.

Locally, our greatest need is for an emergency shelter for rescued survivors of sex trafficking. A house of restoration is in progress, Lila Mays House, but it will not address the need for an emergency shelter. One way to meet the need is for community groups to join efforts and fund one or two dedicated apartments as emergency shelters for survivors of human trafficking.

Other ways in which you can participate in the solution are:

- Pray for God to rescue sex-trafficking survivors in our community.

- If you see the absence of normal, say something by reporting to the NHTRC Hotline, 1-888-373-7888, or text Help to Be Free (233-3733) or call local police.

- Pledge to refuse to view pornography of any kind because it fuels the demand for sex trafficking.

- Donate to an emergency shelter.

- Volunteer your talents to SCAHT

Human trafficking is a moral problem and requires a legal response and a moral response. Whats your response?

Linda Holub of Dakota Dunes, S.D., has lived in the Sioux City metro area for more than 40 years. A Certified Life Coach Professional, Holub served two terms on Sioux Citys Effective Public Policy Committee, one term on the Fiscal Management and Public Policy Committee, is a former Woodbury County Republican city co-chair and was a GOP candidate for Woodbury County supervisor in 2012. She and her husband, Dave, have four adult children.

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THE REGULARS: War against human trafficking shows progress - Sioux City Journal