European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday. September 2, 1987 the stars and stripes student test plan being pushed by education officials Page 3 Washington a the depart ment of education is pressing for a major expansion of a Federal testing pro Gram to allow Staie by stale comparisons of student performance. Secretary of education William 1, Bennett s blueprint for expanding he National assessment of education Prog Ress would provide for wider and More frequent testing of american schoolchildren in Reading math science and other Basic subjects. An advisory panel of civic and Educa Tion leaders led by former Tennessee Cov. Lamar Alexander last March urged a wider Rote for what it called the nation s report card on education now Bennett s department has completed drafting a Bill that would give life to the advisers recommendations the nation s state school superintendents also support Elton to expand the National assessment. When the National assessment was created in  1960s, state superintendents vehemently objected 10 any state by site comparisons. The Law was written to permit the testing program Only to break Down results by four re Gions of the country. But in recent years the state superintendents through the Council of chief slate school officers have endorsed wider testing and stale by state results to meet demands for accountability. The department of education s draft legislation now awaiting approval in the while House office of management and budget would make participation in the expanded testing program voluntary for the Stales. It would allow local school districts to use the National assessment questions so they could report How their children compared with not Only other youngsters around the state but around the nation. The National assessment administered by educational testing service under a 14 million Federal contract now tests about 75,000 youths Ages 9, 13 and 17 every two years. Current Law requires that Reading writing and math be assessed every five years. The Bennett Bill requires thai students be tested at least every two years for Reading and math and every four years for writing and science. It Calls for testing youths in grades four eight and 12, in Stead of by age. The Bennett Bill does not specify Haw much the expanded program would Cost. Sen. Edward Kennedy d-mass., the chairman of the Senate labor and human resources committee is expected to introduce his own Bill to expand the National assessment. Several states in recent years have begun to piggyback their state testing programs on the National assessment. On wednesday the Council of chief state school officers is expected loan ounce that a dry run of a slate by slate National assessment will begin in 1990, with financing both from Bennett s department and the National science foundation. That time of year again is photo toy Stava year however few department of defense dependents schools have de seas school system opened its door stayed their opening Days because they monday for the 1987-88 academic me undergoing renovation. Bute deliver students id Heidelberg Middle school is the military s Over automated pc tafe or of be Field tested soon Washington a americans who have welcomed the convenience of automatic banking machines May soon find computerized postal clerks serv ing them too. At present As much As half of All delivered mail gets to the final letter Carrier without a human being having to read the address postal officials say. And now they plan to extend technology to the Post office lobby. People Are tired of Long lines and crowded lob Bies said Fred 1, Dilisio. Director of operations re search for the . Postal service. We believe we can give them he service they want White postal automation has concentrated on mail sorting and delivery in the past the automated Teller will bang technology directly to the customer. A Field test of the new Teller machines is scheduled for Northern Virginia next year says Herbert a Schil Ler assistant postmaster general for technology. Afler those lest1 the machines will be modified As needed Schiller said depending on Public reaction. It would be a Miracle if some problems Don l turn up during the tests Schiller said. But postal officials arc encouraged by Public acceptance of automated tellers in the banking Industry electronic Bank idlers have expanded from Banks to locations in markets and convenience stores and increased from about 2,000 machines in 1973 to More than 65,000 in use today the american Bankers association reports. Two automated postal machines arc under development. One simply answers questions and one is a More detailed automated mailing station. Dilisio said the mailing station will include a scale to weigh letters and parcels a screen which displays the weigh and various classes of mail and tells the Cost of sending the item each Way. The machine will accept Bills print postage labels sell Stamps dispense labels for insured priority and certified mail and provide information. Both the automated Teller and the smaller information machine Wilt use video disk technology  from customers dispensing information about such topics As wrapping packages costs and benefits of differing classes of mail and types of service stamp collecting obtaining the zip code for an address and other information Dilisio said. These machines should be Able to handle an estimated 68 percent of Post office customer business the postal serv ice estimates freeing clerks for Marc Complex transactions. The machines will be put in Post office lobbies for the tests Schiller said. Officials Are anxious to see How they perform and what changes arc required after the Public begins using them. Technology has seeded up the handling of inc mom than 147 billion pieces of mail that pass through inc postal system annually. Despite individual tales of delays the service reports that 95.5 percent of local letters within a City were delivered overnight last year. In addition nearly 90 percent of letters were delivered in two Days within 600 Miles and within three Days across the country. Automatic sorting and handling equipment has been a major Factor with Only 40 percent to 30 percent of mail requiring a human to read the address before it gets to he final Carrier according to Kenneth j. Hunter senior assist ant postmaster general for management and research technology. Much of the business mail arrives presorted air cad arranged by zip code he explained. Machines called optical character readers can read addresses on much of the mail and automatically apply Bat codes those Little lines thai appear on foods and other goods. In the postal system the bar codes allow machines to do the three or tour sorting of mail that Are needed before it is handed to the final letter Carrier. Hunter said. The codes can be seen at the Bottom Edge of Many envelopes arriving in american Homes a big problem though remains in the big wide fat items said Gary p. Herring director of the postal service s office of advanced technology so they can be coded and sorted by machine. Italian officials emptying Lake Back into riverbed Sandrio. Italy a water from an Alpine Lake formed by a massive landslide reached the original bed of inc Adda River monday in a controlled Effort by italian authorities to prevent flooding of the Val Tichna Valley near the Swiss Border. Officials said inc operation appeared to be successful the situation is under control said Ugo Maione a civil defense official after a Dawn inspection of the Lake located about 2 Miles North of this provincial capital. The water that spilled from the take headed South and was expected to reach Lake Como later in the Day. About 28,000 residents Eva Cutch from 32 villages South of the dam spent a sleepless night because of fears that the canal system might collapse and cause heavy flooding. Authorities cautioned that the evacuees who have been sheltered in huts holds hospitals terns and houses of relatives could not expect to return to their villages before he end of september they will be allowed Back Only when the emergency is Over. This Means that the Lake must be firs emptied said Kutno Gaspar the civil defense minister. The Lake formed last mania when a Section of a  rolled Down into the narrow Valley and blocked the Adda River bed contained about 17 million cubic meters of Waier after its was Swol Len by heavy Rains last monday. The operation began saturday when hydroelectric dams pumped water into the Bairn. Causing the Lake la slowly spill Orrinio the canals. The july landslide which killed 26 people followed earlier Flash floods in the Valley and in other Northern italian areas that left 20 people dead