European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Pag6 4 a a the stars and stripes tuesday August 28, 1990 a a As sat scores continue to new York apr warning that Reading could become a a lost arts among High school students the College Board reported monday that sat scores Sank for the third consecutive year. Verbal averages dropped to their lowest Levels in a decade. Scores on the verbal Section of the Scholastic aptitude test last year fell 3 Points to 424 the lowest since 1980 and equal to the lowest Levels since annual averages were first compiled in 1.971. Scores on the math Section averaged 476, unchanged for the fourth straight year. The steady four year slide in. Verbal scores from a recent Peak of 431 in 1986 is a disturbing but not particularly surprising a said College Board president Donald m. Stewart. A students must pay less attention to video games and music videos and begin to read blame for the poor verbal scores rests with parents and schools Stewar Virginia Beach trying to erase memories of riot Virginia Beach a. Apr this resort City on the Atlantic is helping to throw a labor Day weekend party in Hopes that last years violence will be forgotten and that College students will continue to come to play on the Beach and spend Money. But others Are urging a Boycott of Virginia Beach. More than 100,000 Young people jammed the City a beachfront strip for the 1989 labor Day weekend. Many were students from predominantly Black colleges and universities along the East coast who have gathered Here for an informal end of summer party for nearly 10 years. A but violence and looting broke out. City and state police and the National guard cleared the beachfront thoroughfare. Violent clashes Between stick wielding police and Young Blacks degenerated into a riot. Hundreds of people were arrested or cited and More than 50 were injured. Most of those arrested were local residents not College students. Damage was estimated at More than $1.4 million. Both sides blamed the other. The students said City officials and merchants had been hostile and rude charging High prices and harassing them. City officials said it was simply a problem of too Many people in too Small an area with too Little to do along the 24-Block-Long strip. Several groups Are calling for Black students to stay away this year a we Are doing this to help economically empower Black americans and to protest the injustice done last year a said c. David Walker a student at Norfolk stale University and part of group called concerned Black awareness Council. He and others Are promoting gatherings in Washington Baltimore and Atlantic Beach . The Virginia Beach gathering started nearly a decade ago when a group of Black fraternity and sorority members gathered on the Beach. From 1985 to 1988, the party had a promoter who called it greek fest and worked with the City to provide entertainment. Problems in 1988 with scattered vandalism and rowdiness had merchants pressuring the City Council to a do something about the Council passed stricter alcohol and Beach behaviour Laws and denied greek fest organizers the use of City buildings for dances. A civic panel appointed to investigate the 1989 riots for the City Council found that both sides went into the Holiday weekend with a defensive attitude. The group said there was enough blame to go around and that both sides needed to work together in planning for 1990. The Council then appointed another citizens group to plan the event with the condition that no tax Money be spent to entertain the guests. Pail of the festivities will be moved to a Park several Miles from the Beach. With business help the committee booked two Days of musical entertainment at the Park. Said in an interview. A the requirement to read through Homework has been reduced. Students done to read As much because they done to have to read As much a he said. A Reading is in danger of becoming a lost Art among too Many american students. And that would be a National among the few Bright spots in the gloomy report women Smath scores reached their Best Levels in 16 years scores of american indians Rose a combined 13 Points and Black test takers continued a 15-Ycar trend As the most improved ethnic group. The sat taken by 1.03 million col i Csc bound High school students is a two part multiple Choice exam each scored on a scale of 200-800. It is sponsored by the College Board and administered by the educational testing service in Princeton . It is the predominant College Entrance exam in 22 states. Scores on the act the College Entrance test that predominates in 28 states mainly in the Midwest and West will be released sept. 11. The sat has become the single most often cited barometer of the nation s educational Progress or Lack of it. This years scores and the stagnation in student achievement that they suggest will almost certainly fuel Public doubts about the Success of the decade old school Reform movement. But the College Board and others caution that no single number can reasonably summarize the performance of 40 million students attending 83,000 Public schools across the country. Among the reports other findings a the higher a students family income the higher the average score. Test takers from 151,485 families earning $70,000 or More per year averaged 468 on the verbal 527 on math. The 41,845 test takers from families earning less than $ 10,000 averaged 357 in verbal 419 math. A women Smath scores Rose a Point to their highest average in 16 years 455. A american indians scored the Best year to year gains of any ethnic group a four Point gain in verbal averages to 388, and a nine Point Rise in math to 437. A verbal scores among Black students Rose by one Point to 352 and now stand 20 Points higher than 1976 Levels. Math averages were Down a Point to 385, but Are still 31 Points better than 976 scores. A averages among White students dropped four Points on verbal scores to 442, and were unchanged at 491 in math a non White students now constitute 27 percent of All sat test takers up from 25 percent in 1989 and 17 percent in 1980. A Iowa posted the highest state average a combined 1088 on the verbal and math. But Only 5 percent of High school graduates took it. U a master sgt. Enrico Bryan leads his wife Amelia through the Media gathered monday at fort Bragg ., for the Start of his trial on murder charges in the death of a panamanian Soldier during operation just cause court martial begins for no accused of slaying panamanian fort Bragg Up a the court martial of a fort Bragg Soldier who is charged with the murder of a panamanian Soldier began monday amid charges the prosecution is unfair. If convicted master sgt. Enrico Bryan could get a life prison term. The Panama native is the first Soldier since the Vietnam War to be charged with murder in combat. A the army knows that everybody is watching a said Emile a. Milne an aide to rep. Charles b. Rangel d-n.y., whose office has questioned the army a motivation for pressing the Case against Bryan. A this one is not behind dosed Bryan s court martial began against a backdrop of a full scale deployment of troops to the Middle fast and mounting questions about what is behind the army s decision to charge the master sergeant. Concern that Bryan was being prosecuted unfairly intensified this summer after fort Bragg s commander decided to proceed with the Case. It. Gen. Gary e. Luck a decision to recommend a charge of unpremeditated murder came after investigators concluded that the charges should be dropped. Luck s decision was in opposition to Bryan a commanding officer col Jack p. Nix who recommended that the charges be dismissed. Army investigators had recommended a charge of involuntary manslaughter. The trial should shed some Light on the ambiguous question of when deadly Force by . Troops is warranted. An eyewitness to the shooting is expected to take the stand to describe a Fuller picture of what . Soldiers encountered during the first chaotic Days of the invasion that ousted strongman Manuel Noriega. The shooting took place dec. 23 after the beginning of the airborne assault on Panama known As operation just cause. Bryan claimed he shot the Soldier after the panamanian threw a hand grenade that wounded 10 . Soldiers. Bryan and other witnesses said Bryan fired the fatal shot As the Soldier was about to use a second hand grenade. However it. Brandon Thomas said the shooting took place As Bryan dragged the panamanian away from the area
