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Page 2 The Skanner August 2, 2017 ® Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Opinion The ESSA Focuses on Accountability and Performance S Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2017 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com ixteen states and the Dis- trict of Columbia submit- ted their proposals for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on April 4, 2017. The remaining states are required to submit their proposals on September 18, 2017. A review of the first proposals submit- ted, which included Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Del- aware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ne- vada, New Jersey, New Mex- ico, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont, showed some improvements, as well as areas of concern, related to how education offi- cials plan to address account- ability and school perfor- mance at the state and local levels. Multiple state plans empha- sized their intentions to pro- vide well-rounded curricu- lums; ensuring students have increased access to high-qual- ity science and social studies in addition to reading and mathematics. In fact, more than half of submitted state plans include assessments for science and social studies in addition to the required English Language Arts, read- ing and mathematics. Some states went as far as includ- ing fine arts, music, physical education, and library media specialists. Therefore, state Dr. Elizabeth Primas Progam Manager, NNPA plans stress the importance of a curriculum that focuses on more than reading and arith- metic. In addition to providing a well-rounded curriculum, states included in their ac- countability systems plans “ cut and Tennessee propose to combine subgroups for ac- countability measures. This process will mask exactly which students are strug- gling, and assumes that cor- rective measures for each subgroup would be the same. ESSA requires states to re- port data for each subgroup; presuming that detailed data reporting will highlight ar- eas of inequity. Combined subgroup reporting does not meet the intent of ESSA and could result in stagnant aca- demic progress. Arizona and State plans stress the importance of a curriculum that focuses on more than reading and arithmetic to strengthen their existing strategies while introduc- ing new approaches, as they move forward. New Jersey proposes to double count the academic performance of student subgroups in school evaluations to ensure that the needs of struggling students’ do not go overlooked. Neva- da’s plan proposes moving to- wards the creation of Individ- ual Learning Plans (ILPs) for each student. This ambitious goal will measure student engagement, achievement and growth, while providing a more holistic view of school success. However, Oregon, Connecti- Maine submitted plans that are underdeveloped and fail to provide details as to how they will address ESSA’s re- quirement to incorporate stu- dent subgroup data in their accountability system. Many states do not detail how their proposed strategies will be implemented or provide data to prove rationality for such strategies. Other proposals do not include proficiency targets, or methods for mea- suring whether students are reaching the state’s grade-lev- el standards. Overall, every submitted state plan can expand on their current proposals to develop www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar LOCAL NEWS BRIEFS d ay ! • L i ke u s o n F ebo m me • nts TheSkannerNews o k • learn • co in y o u r c o m m u n to y • ac it Updated daily at TheSkanner.com accountability systems that ensure that “all” students make progress. States that have not submitted their proposals for ESSA should take time to review the state plans that have already been submitted and use them as a guide to improve upon their own proposed accountability systems. States that plan to submit proposals on Septem- ber 18 should also take note that states that have been most successful at developing comprehensive plans, with an increased focus on the prog- ress of all student subgroups, have effectively and consis- tently engaged parents and other education stakeholders. Oregon: Strengths Oregon proposes to reduce their subgroup size from 40 to 20 students, capturing the performance of more stu- dents. Oregon also propos- es to use at least three years of data from previous years to inform improvements in their accountability system, lowering the required sub- group size to seven for this purpose. Weaknesses While Oregon’s description of the indicators in its ac- countability system is clear, it is not apparent how the indi- cators, weights, and subgroup performance are combined to identify schools. High-Prescription Drug Prices Hurt the Black Community N early a decade ago, Clin- ton Crawley, a Baltimore resident and one of my constituents, was diag- nosed with diabetes. Clinton has done everything his doc- tors asked — he eats well, ex- ercises and he takes his med- ication. Although Clinton has employer-sponsored health insurance, the cost of his med- ication — more than $1,000 each year — places a signifi- cant burden on his finances. Mr. Crawley is not alone. Over the past decade, 90 per- cent of brand name drugs have more than doubled in price. In 2014, U.S. prescrip- tion drug prices jumped 13 percent. That year, Ameri- cans spent $1,112 per person on medication while Cana- dians spent $772 and Danes spent $325, and nearly 1 in 5 Americans have reported not being able to afford the medication they were pre- scribed. Simply put, the phar- maceutical industry’s greed is hurting the American people. The issue of high prescrip- tion drug prices has a severe impact on the African Ameri- can community. As the saying goes, “when America catches a cold, Black America gets the flu.” African Americans suffer from chronic diseas- es at higher rates than other groups. African Americans are 40 percent more like- ly than Caucasians to have Rep. Elijah E. Cummings Congressman (D-Md.) high blood pressure, and the rate of diagnosed diabetes is 77 percent higher in our community. In 2014, African Americans were nearly three times more likely to die from asthma-related causes than Caucasians. African Ameri- cans at every education level are also paid less than their white counterparts. These factors place African Amer- “ right when he said that these companies are “getting away with murder.” That is why Congress- man Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and I put our differences with President Trump aside and met with him to discuss how we can work together to lower prescription drug pric- es. During that meeting, Rep. Welch and I presented Presi- dent Trump with “The Medi- care Drug Price Negotiation Act,” a bill that would lower prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare—the larg- est purchaser of prescription drugs in America — to nego- tiate for lower prescription drug prices. We asked for the President Trump is poised to is- sue an executive order that would grant many wishes directly from the pharmaceutical industry icans in a double bind — we are more likely to suffer from an expensive chronic disease and we earn less money with which to pay for our health care, including skyrocketing prescription drug prices. Mr. Crawley’s experience, and those of millions of Americans nationwide, is unacceptable at a time when the 10 highest paid pharma- ceutical industry CEOs took home $327 million in a single year. President Trump was president’s support and feed- back on our bill. Four months later, despite the president’s enthusiasm during our meet- ing, we are still waiting to hear from him. Instead of working with me and Rep. Welch, there are now reports that President Trump is poised to issue an executive order that would grant many wishes directly from the pharmaceutical in- dustry’s wish list. This execu- tive order would be a betrayal of the president’s promise to the American people. There is something wrong with this picture, and the American people know it. A majority of Democrats, Republicans and indepen- dents want Congress and President Trump to make lowering the cost of prescrip- tion drugs a “top priority,” and 92 percent of all Ameri- cans want Medicare to negoti- ate for lower drug prices. While I am disappointed by the president’s silence, I am undeterred. I am still fighting hard in Congress to address this issue. Rep. Welch and I recently joined Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to intro- duce the “Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act” — a comprehen- sive approach to lowering prescription drug costs. Our bill would improve trans- parency in drug pricing and manufacturing; allow Medi- care to negotiate for lower prices in Part D and require negotiation for certain high- cost drugs; allow the impor- tation of safe, affordable pre- scription drugs; help generic drugs reach the market more easily; and cap the out-of- pocket costs for prescription drugs in private insurance plans. Read the rest of this commentary at TheSkanner.com nt • lo c a l n e w s • eve
