Education in brief

By Globe Staff, 12/2/2001

ASSACHUSETTS

Sample MCAS questions issued by state

The state Department of Education recently released sample MCAS math questions to help 11th-graders who will take the MCAS retest in December. The 69 questions are from past Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams and represent the level of difficulty students will encounter on the retest Dec. 10. Students in the class of 2003 who failed the exam have four chances to pass it before graduation. The sample questions were mailed to high schools and also are available online at www.mcasinfo.com. Sample English questions also have been posted on the Web site.

BRIDGEWATER

Finalists interviewed at state college

Four finalists seeking to become president of Bridgewater State College were interviewed and toured the campus this past week. The successful candidate will replace Adrian Tinsley, who is leaving after 13 years as the college's 10th president. The deadline to appoint a new president is Dec. 21. The four finalists are: Livingston Alexander, provost at Kean University in New Jersey; D'Ann Campbell, interim president at White Pines College in New Hampshire; Richard Davenport, vice president for academic affairs at Central Michigan University; and Dana Mohler-Faria, vice president for administration at Bridgewater State.

CAMBRIDGE

MIT donates video equipment to school

Cambridge Rindge and Latin School will be able to televise basketball games live and create TV news programs through a donation of video equipment from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The university recently donated seven cameras and 30 pieces of studio equipment that the high school can use on its own Channel 98. ''MIT has always been very supportive of the Cambridge public schools,'' Superintendent Bobbie D'Alessandro said.

RHODE ISLAND

Elementary test scores improve in R.I.

Assessment test scores have improved across the board in Rhode Island's elementary schools, while the middle and high schools have posted scores that were flat or decreased, according to results released earlier this month. ''We have the evidence to show which schools need help,'' said Peter McWalters, the state's commissioner of elementary and secondary education. ''We need to assemble the resources to bring all of our schools up to the level of high performance.'' The tests have been administered each spring since 1998. The state does not compare results on a year-to-year basis. Instead, scores are averaged in three-year blocks - from 1998 to 2000, and from 1999 to 2001. (AP)

This story ran on page C2 of the Boston Globe on 12/2/2001.
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