Hermiston
Herald
POWER
LEARNING
ASSESSING THE ASSESSMENT
Power
outage hits
area Tuesday
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
Building a home
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ABOUT TOWN
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
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School districts analyze
data from new Smarter
Balanced test results
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
mong the current high school
seniors who took the new
Smarter Balanced assess-
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students outperformed other
local districts.
The new state tests in English and
math were designed to hold students to
more rigorous instructional standards
to ensure they are prepared for college
or a career following high school, ac-
cording to the Oregon Department of
Education. With last year’s recently
released results setting the baseline for
future comparison, local districts have
been analyzing the data to assess their
instructional practices.
The tests, taken by students in
grades 3-8 and 11, are scored on a
scale of one to four, with scores three
or four indicating the students are “on
track to graduate high school prepared
for their next steps,” according to the
education department. The results
from students across the state indicate
many do not meet the new, higher
standards. Only 54.1 percent of stu-
dents in all grade levels were consid-
A
See ASSESSMENT, A18
Smarter Balanced test results for Umatilla, Morrow county schools
Percentage of students considered on track by the state’s new assessment testing in 2014.
School district
Hermiston
English language arts
Mathematics
Umatilla
English language arts
Mathematics
Stanfield
English language arts
Mathematics
Echo
English language arts
Mathematics
Morrow County
English language arts
Mathematics
State average
English language arts
Mathematics
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 11
Total
45.5%
42
43.8%
44.1
50.4%
39.8
50.5%
36.9
51.5%
39
58.1%
35.8
41.9%
20.3
49.1%
37.4
25.2
25.2
19
19
24.2
12.6
35.8
9.3
42.2
6.9
48.9
20.4
59.3
10.2
35.9
14.9
44
38.8
25.7
14.3
46.9
18.8
42.1
29.7
57.1
39
60
27.6
77.4
29
49.6
29.1
37.5
45.8
52.6
31.6
23.1
28.6
61.1
50
71.4
50
52.9
23.5
71.4
14.3
53.2
34.6
38.7
34.5
38.3
34.5
40.4
19.9
50
29.6
45.1
22.1
47.2
28.2
63.6
20.3
45.8
27.3
45.6
45.6
49
43.7
53.6
40.8
52.7
38.1
55.5
42.6
57
42.9
67.2
30.5
54.1
40.8
Total scores for Hermiston elementary and middle schools in 2014
Percentage of students considered on track for ...
... English language arts
Elementary
Highland Hills
Rocky Heights
Sunset
West Park
Desert View
Middle school
Armand Larive
Sandstone
... Mathematics
Elementary
Total for grades 3-5
46.6%
50.6
45.4
36.3
58.1
Total for grades 6-8
55.5%
55.2
39.9%
51.4
35.9
37.8
49
Middle school
Total for grades 6-8
Source: Oregon Dept. of Education
40.6%
35.8
Sean Hart and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
Police chief travels to DC for papal visit
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versation I realized they were
Hermiston Police Chief Jason there just like me, wanting to be
Edmiston was among the crowd a part of history and listening to
of thousands who gathered to the positive message from the
watch on the lawn of the Capitol pope.”
as Pope Francis addressed Con-
After addressing Congress,
gress Thursday, Sept. 24.
Pope Francis addressed the
Rep. Greg Walden, a Repub- crowd gathered on the lawn
lican from Hood River, invited from a balcony. The pontiff
residents of Oregon’s 2nd Dis- asked the believers in the audi-
trict to request about 50 tickets ence to pray for him and for the
he was alloted for the event. nonbelievers to wish him good-
Edmiston and his son, Hayden, will, Edmiston said. The humble
were among those selected to gesture, he said, was a sign of
witness the historic event, as the true leadership.
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“There’s something that
address Congress.
is very appealing about Pope
They arrived three hours be- Francis and his message,” he
fore the address, Edmiston said, said. “I think this pope is chang-
and thousands of people were ing things.”
already on the lawn waiting.
Edmiston said the trip was
“I mingled with both Cath- a personal vacation and not
olics and non-Catholics while related to his job. He thanked
waiting,” he said. “My son and I Walden and his staff for making
stood next to a couple that were it possible for him and his son to
LDS, which frankly surprised witness the pope’s visit.
PHOTO BY TAMMY MALGESINI
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Total for grades 3-5
Highland Hills
Rocky Heights
Sunset
West Park
Desert View
Armand Larive
Sandstone
Thousands of Umatil-
la Electric Cooperative
and Hermiston Energy
Services customers lost
power Tuesday after-
noon after a loss of ser-
vice at UEC’s McNary
point of delivery for
wholesale power.
The outage took place
at about 4:30 p.m. and
affected Hermiston,
Umatilla and surround-
ing areas, including
Irrigon and Boardman,
served by a total of six
substations. According
to UEC, power was
restored to a portion of
the affected area by 4:45
p.m. while crews con-
tinued to work to restore
power to the rest of the
area into the evening.
The outage was
quickly followed by at
least one car crash in
Hermiston at the inter-
section of Northeast
Fourth Street and Main
Street.
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not working during a
power outage, intersec-
tions should be treated
as four-way stops, with
all vehicles coming to
a stop and then taking
turns crossing the inter-
section in the order they
arrived.
UEC customers can
call 888-465-5701 at any
time to report an outage.
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
PHOTO COURTESY JASON EDMISTON
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Downtown
businesses
kick off
Thursday fun
A Fall Kick Off
event is planned during
this month’s First
Thursdays in downtown
Hermiston.
The Hermiston
Downtown District
invites people to come
down Thursday for
extended shopping hours
and specials from 4:30-
7 p.m. on East Main
Street.
Dallin Puzey of
Hermiston will provide
special entertainment.
He will be playing gui-
tar and singing outside
the RoeMarks building
at Second and Main
streets.
Be sure to pick up
a passport card to get
initialed by businesses
visited. After getting at
least four signatures,
people can deposit their
passport in a drawing
box at Goss Jewelers,
215 E. Main St., Suite
A, for a chance to win.
No purchase is neces-
sary.