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Dallas ISD to Cut Testing. District superintendent Michael Hinojosa is planning to significantly reduce the number of assessment exams students, particularly those in elementary school, have to take each year. Under previous superintendent Mike Miles, DISD began administering its own Assessments of Course Performance of several subjects twice each year. The additional testing was part of the Teacher Excellence Initiative, which evaluates district teachers in part on how well their students perform. The resulting test schedule meant that students in third grade, for example, faced as many as 12 assessments — the district’s ACPs, plus the state-required STAAR tests — in a year. After the change, third-graders will only take four such tests in a year. Overall 41 of the 109 ACPs are being eliminated.
Boy Scout, Volunteer Leader Killed. A storm blew through Quetico Provincial Park in Canada, near the Minnesota border, where 13-year-old Christian James Sanchez of Lewisville and 39-year-old Rorth Lac of Carrollton, were camping. Strong winds knocked down trees that killed Sanchez and Lac and injured two others in their group.
‘Super Coyote’ in North Oak Cliff. Kessler Park residents near the Coombs Creek Trail are warning about a biggie-sized coyote — possibly a “Coyote/Wolf/Dog mix” — roaming the neighborhood. At least one dachshund has already fallen prey to the beast.
