NATIONAL
Standardized U.S. tests
weaker than other nations
WASHINGTON | A I1) A< hievement tests give 1' S students lit
tie ( hanc e tn show what they've learned in the classroom while
Japanese and European students are forced to prove they've mas
tered various subjects, a study released Sunday said
"Our most common, high stakes examinations do little to ad
vame the notion tli.il hard work in si hool matters " said byline \
Cheney, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Hiim.uu
ties
While American students are asked multiple-choice questions
Japanese students may he asked to identify European thinkers su< h
as Euclid. Ptolemy Bacon, Newton and !.oi ke And British stu
dents may have to argue in .in essay w hetlier Woodrow W ilspn was
"unbelievably naive or "a dogged man of print iple
Cheney said Ni l I. an independent federal agent \ looked at na
tional tests in brain.e. Cermanv, Great Britain Japan and the Euro
pean Community si bools High si hool students in those i uuntnes
must prove mastery of subject matter by organizing then thoughts
analyzing and mounting arguments
The Cnited States has no equivalent exam. although the Si hulas
lit Aptitude Test and the Amerii an ( ollege Testing Program i nine
close. (Ihenev said
But she said, both the SAT and the ACT are basically multiple
i boil e. have an "arm s length relationship to t urrii tila and avoid
assessing factual knowledge that a student might-have learned ni
I lie classroom.
"Examinations assessing performance are harder to grade than
those that rely exclusively on multiple-choice but the experience
of other countries shows that it i an be done ” ( heney said
The SAT and ACT measure aptitude rather than achievement.
Cheney said Achievement tests she said convey the idea tli.it
mastery of si bool subjec Is is important and makes student in mint
able tor yvh.it they have learned
President Bush and Educ ation Secretary I..<111.11 \lexander have
(.ailed for voluntary national achievement tests as part of an
"Amerii a 2000" edui alum strategy
The examinations would be made available to .ill (ninth eighth
and 12th grade students in the suhjei Is of math si lent e English,
history and geography
Police misconduct costs L.A.
more than $13 million in 1990
|,()S A\< ,|-1 i s | AH) rill- I it\ has lost judgments totaling mine
than Si t 8 million so tar this year in polii e hum oiuIih t ' as---, .1.1
passing the riM oril S'l "> million it ',\as ordered t,, pay i:i al it toon
roi ords shou
I or the fist al year ending June 1(1 tin- ( itv h.is already used up a
$17 million hind to settle lawsuits and will havo to pa\ in-vy
awards trom a reserve hind, said |*• 11 Druvun. assistant i hint legi
lative analyst
Citizen i hums alleging Polii e Department misi ondui t rose ft- in
an average ot nine pet week in Mart h and \pril I'l'in !■ i I i a week
tol low i ng the v identapt-d Mart h ( polite beat mg o( bl.a k motorist
Rodney G king
Git\ trffit nils blame the widely publicized beating lor the in
t rease in i laims and ti.image awards
in April -i |ur\ awartletl $li > million to \df!aidt> \ltainii.in> *
who was let! pa rap I eg u when lie was shot by -in off tints pnl n e "I
titer in 1987
Kigiit million dollars was an extraordinary amount 1 won hi sat
the amount was inflated bet uuse of t irt umstant es surrounding the
king t ase ." said ( it\ (ounciiwoman Jov Hu ns
hi other jury .iwtirtis this year funnel Him k I'.mther Mu hai l
/in/iin was awardetl $1 11 1 million in a lawsuit Unit alleged V.sis
taut Polite ( hief Robert Vernon supplied information on Zinzun to
a polite al opponent in a 10851 t amp.ngn tor tfie I’asadeim hoard
I liret tors
Baseball Hall ol f .liner |oe Morgan ret eivutl a $ i-hl 000 milgmeiit
in a federal law suit that alleged a pole e offit er falseh arrested him
at Los Angeles International Airport in 1088 bet a use lie is blat k
Police mist ontitit t ( ases include allegations of false airest t it i!
rights abuses, excessive force and unnecessary shootings I he
judgment and settlement amounts are recorded to the ( its Goun
t d s Budget and Kinant e (lommittee and the t it\ attorney
Between 1087 anti 1090, blat k complaints of excessive point
forte were more likely to tie upheld than were similar t omplaints
by whites or Ihspamcs But blat ks also were more likely to be tin
stit t essful in their complaints about other mist ondui I nit hiding
improper tat tit s and verbal abuse
Nine fieri ent ol white complaints against polii e were sustained,
compared to 7 percent for Hispanit s anil > peri ent for blat ks .n
cording to department records I be department upheld , pert ent
of al! t iti/.en complaints for the period
The figures were int iudetl m a /.os A/ige/es / itnrs stuily ot 1 loo
misconduct complaMlts that yy.ts published Sunday
Black officers accused of misconduct wen- twice as likely as
white offu ers to he fount! guilty in department administrative pm
readings Blat k offii ers also were more likely to l»* tiist iplim-ti tor
misconduct, although they were no more likely to In- the targets ol
complaints
Musa Camara, a polite officer who lias represented ' olleagin-s
at t used of wrongdoing, said there is a double standard in this tie
part men! in many instant es when tie,ding with blat k officers and
black citizens ''
Inside and outside the department the word ot African \meii
cans is not given as much weight, tie said
Appeal halts right-to-die decision
INDIAN \POl lS (AIM \ M’vsri'K brain
damaged woman whose feeding tidies were re
moved more th.m two weeks ago was led again
Sumlav while a Christian group prepared to
appeal a judge s ruling affirming l»*T right to
die
\ i ivil liberties lawyer said Sunday the dis
pute goes a step lieynnd the Nam V t ru/.in
case in Missouri which last year resulted in
the I' S Supreme (ourt s first right to die nil
mg
Cru/an who died in Deeemlier after her
feeding fillies were removed, had tidd family
arid friends lielore she suffered severe hrain
damage in a 1‘lH l car i rash that she wouldn't
w ant to he kept aliv e m th.it i ond it ion
Hut hi (lie Indiana i ase Sue \nu l avs ram e
has suffered mental disorders sim e i hildhood
and there has tieen no ev idem e about w helher
she would want to be kepi alive III the persist
eilt vegetative state she has been in situ e I'lH '
the (Christian group s law yer said
law lame 41! had been expelled to die
within a tew days but the fudge allowed for
• III appeal by granting a I day stav Saturdav
nt mi earlier order permittm# lic’i parents In n
move I he life Mist, lining tulles
1’iitti Mullins .1 law ver fort hristiim fellow
ship with the Ihsabled. said she plans In i on
Irii I the Indiana Supreme (’ourt anil (uiurt of
Nppeals on Mondav to itei nle where she
shoulil file an appeal
I rei eived .1 trenieuiloils nmnher of hateful
1 .ills this inormnx Mullins saul Sundav
I in not Irving to 1 ause trouble I have trained
and trained and trained to lie a p'eai emaket
and a problem solver as well as an attnruev
and that was the approai ll I intended to take
I eeduiKs resumed Saturdav n 1 vtht at si \'jn
tent llospne ( enter where I.awianie was
transferred from a nursing home Slav t the
dav tier feedings tubes were removed
In ,i meeting earlier Saturdav 111 (tie 1 hainbei
of I lam 1 III 111 t Oil lit \ Superior ( unit | mlge |err\
M Han the woman's fumilv agreed to resume
feeding law tain e tor I davs
l aw rain e tias suffered progressrvelv debill
fating brain disorders situ e 1 hildhood and
lapsed into a persistent vegetative slate after a
I'm ' tall
HEY BUB!
Wanna know where to
Get a Small 1 -Item
Pizza for
*3.95?
(Additional toppings 50C)
Offer good only on Monday s
TRACK TOWN PIZZA
1809 FRANKLIN BLVD
484-2799
In-House or Delivery
(Minimum Delivery 00)