Where Are The Smarter Balanced Test Results?

Where Are The Smarter Balanced Test Results?

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According to Kavips (posted on August 1st):
It has been 7 days now that the Delaware Department has sat on the results of the Smarter Balanced Assessments. Day one was the release by other states of their preliminary data alerting all that the state now had the results… One must ask why in the “most open and transparent administration in Delaware’s history” (Markell’s state of the state claim) we are still waiting for the preliminary data to be released.
Do we really have the results? The test was given last spring (March and April) so you'd think for a test to have educational impact the results would be available quickly.

The Weekly Addresses

In this week's address, the President celebrated the fiftieth birthdays of Medicare and Medicaid, which together have allowed millions to live longer and better lives. In his weekly message, Governor Markell shares his highlights from Governor’s Day at the 2015 Delaware State Fair.
Can You Chip In To Help Planned Parenthood?

Can You Chip In To Help Planned Parenthood?

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Never mind that this probably won't pass... yet. The writing is on the wall, and it doesn't have a single thing to do with abortion (Hello, Hyde Amendment). But given the rampant ignorance and stupidity within the Republican Party we really need to send a message. Via WSJ:
The Senate will vote as early as Monday on a bill to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding, a largely symbolic vote causing pain for centrists in both parties and drawing fire from conservatives who say it won’t satisfy their quest to put the organization out of business. The bill isn’t expected to garner the 60 votes needed to advance, as nearly all Democrats object to it. Its defeat, however, won’t end the effort to cut off federal money for Planned Parenthood.
When you consider the Hyde Amendment, you need to ask yourself, what is the real agenda of the GOP? The correct answer is that The War on Women continues. This is really about contraception... and women who have the ability to have an enjoy sex (a mythical creature in GOP land, among GOP men and women - which is really sad.) without the fear of pregnancy.
This is getting tiring.

This is getting tiring.

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The News Journal reports that New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon "still isn't ruling out a campaign for governor in 2016." Why would he rule it out? The juggernaut that is John Carney is not that intimidating. Indeed, if Gordon gets in versus Carney, I have Gordon as the favorite.
"I have not made up my mind," Gordon said during a brief interview on Thursday. "It's still early. I haven't said no to it."
Thursday Open Thread [7.30.15]

Thursday Open Thread [7.30.15]

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Nate Silver: “Despite what you may have read elsewhere — or heard from the man himself — Donald Trump is not all that popular with Republican voters. Sure, he’s in first place in many polls. But Trump is near the back of the pack by another important measure… Trump’s favorability ratings among Republicans are barely better than break-even: 47 percent favorable and 43 percent unfavorable. Among the 17 Republican candidates, Trump’s net favorable rating, +4, ranks 13th, ahead of only Chris Christie, Jim Gilmore, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki.” “And yet, in these same polls, Trump is the first choice of an average of 20 percent of Republican voters — the highest in the field, ahead of Scott Walker (14 percent) and Jeb Bush (12 percent).”
Ready, Fire, Aim — The Operation Disrupt Edition

Ready, Fire, Aim — The Operation Disrupt Edition

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Today, we get a hilarious press release from the Mayor's Office announcing that the WPD's Operation Disrupt is now coming back. This is the Operation Disrupt put into place with great fanfare after multiple shootings in January -- pulling the city's Community Police Unit, as well as resources from other special units to flood the streets of certain sections of the city with officers. And only for eight hours in the evening and only for 5 days a week. Sundays were covered by NCCOPD and Mondays were covered on an ad hoc basis. Operation Disrupt started winding down in March and by the time that the WPSSC presented its report, Operation Disrupt was a shadow of its former self, with most of the special unit officers returned to their units and the CPU officers preparing to move on to other assignments. This is March 31. The NJ reported that Operation Disrupt was being reconfigured into a 7 officer unit that would specifically target certain areas. Then it said that Operation Disrupt was over on June 5, which may be when the original configuration ended. And then -- TA DA! -- Operation Disrupt is BACK and Mayor and the Chief are pulling the newly deployed CPU to do the larger effort.