Slow newsday today but I came across a couple of interesting tidbits.
US Standoff Between School Staff and "No Child Left Behind" Literacy Testing
Interesting challenge in the US to the No Child Left Behind act which has now mandated that literacy testing be done in the native tongue of ESL/ELL students. While the NCLB act is not a Canadian concern it is worth a read given our heavy ESL population in Canadian schools. I work for a major assessment company and I would not even know where to start to find native language literacy tests for half the students I have assessed. CLICK HERE to read the full article. It is certainly worth a look at another example of mandates coming from individuals who do not understand the process.
Insomnia and Children
I do think about sleep patterns a bit when I assess and always ask about a students sleep patterns, but have not historically thought a lot about causal factors of sleep problems. I came across a pediatric blog while researching the Sleep Disorder Inventory for Students (SDIS) that may be a worthwhile read (CLICK HERE) for some of you. The differential diagnosis issues (including ADHD) were particularly interesting for me.
Zero Tolerence Policies
When this APA press release first came out last August I missed it (as I suspect a lot of summer vacation staff would of as well) but it is worth a look for those involved in policy making. Seems the zero tolerence approaches towards school behaviour and drug issues actually make things worse. CLICK HERE to have a read.
