Idaho elementary students’ reading scores improve
New state figures show more Idaho elementary school kids reading at grade level than in previous years.
Kindergarten pupils through third graders take the Idaho Reading Indicator test each fall. Results help educators find students who might need additional support, but they also give state leaders an idea of how prepared students are. Nearly 60 percent of Idaho K-3 students were reading at grade level this fall, up about a point and a half from the 2023 scores.
First and second grade scores made the largest jumps, each more than two points better. Kindergarten scores were down slightly.
The state tracks these scores by cohort, and says the 2022 class of first graders went from more than 55 percent grade level proficiency then, to 63.5 percent proficiency this fall as third graders.
In a statement, state superintendent of public instruction Debbie Critchfield said the gains show efforts to prioritize early literacy programs are paying off for Idaho students.
Deadly equine disease found in Spokane County
Washington state agriculture officials are trying to stop the spread of a deadly variant of equine herpes that’s in Spokane County.
The disease caused two horses to be euthanized over the weekend.
An unknown number of horses have been exposed to a highly-contagious strain of Equine Herpes Virus.
That’s according to Washington state veterinarian Dr. Amber Itle.
But the Cheney facility associated with the euthanized horses regularly hosts large events like weekly team ropings. The disease is a variant that attacks the nervous system of the horse.
Spokane, Whitman, and Lincoln counties might already have exposures, Itle said.
“The best thing we can do, the best way we can be a good neighbor is to not move our horses, and really monitor them,” she said.
The disease doesn’t spread to people, Itle said. But people with horses that may have been exposed should quarantine them and seek a vet if their horse has an elevated temperature.
Parallels between local and national PFAS concerns
Spokane’s PFAS drinking water contamination problem is similar to situations in cities all over the U.S., according to one expert.
Alissa Cordner, co-director of the PFAS Project Lab and a sociology professor at Whitman College in Walla Walla, said most, if not all, have close proximity to military bases and airports where PFAS-laden firefighting foam has been used.
The foam is a suspected source of PFAS contamination on Spokane County’s West Plains, in areas near Fairchild AFB and Spokane International Airport. While the Air Force disclosed the groundwater contamination after it was detected in 2017, PFAS presence around the international airport did not become widely known until this spring, seven years after airport officials learned of the issue.
“There are a lot of commonalities there, both in terms of the exposure concerns, the community’s response to finding out they have PFAS contamination, and also, unfortunately, a slower-than-desired response from the responsible party,” Cordner told SPR News.
Cordner spoke about the parallels at a meeting of the West Plains Water Coalition Monday night. Cordner will also be Doug Nadvornick’s guest on Inland Journal from SPR News, Thursday, November 14, at noon on KPBX.
Idaho legislative panel wants to better understand artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly used in schools, healthcare, and government. To what degree is unknown. That’s the foundation of a new AI workgroup created by the Idaho Legislature.
“We know this is an important issue,” the panel’s co-chair, GOP Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthony, said. “The sooner that the legislature gets a little bit better hold of some of the issues, that will be things that will affect the Idaho people, the better.”
The committee recently spent the better part of three hours being briefed on the subject, and ultimately getting challenged to address AI’s opportunities and risks.
Erick Herring, Chief Technology Officer for a company that specializes in software for finance, health care and legal services, told the lawmakers regarding AI as the arbiter of truth is a risk.
“Then you're in the position of arguing against the thing. ‘That's obviously objectively true, because the machine said so.’ And that's a bad place to be if there's not a robust process to allow humans to intervene when the conclusions are obviously incorrect,” Herring said.
The Idaho artificial intelligence committee agreed to meet again soon, most likely before the 2025 legislative session that begins in January.
Former Afghan journalist warns of erosion of human rights
A former Afghan journalist and government official is speaking out after multiple attacks from the Taliban.
Last year, Zia Danesh arrived in Spokane after years of being attacked by the extremist group.
Danesh said he went into hiding for seven months, moving from home to home, to make sure he and his family couldn’t be located and stayed safe.
“I had no cell phone, and I didn't use any internet because it was very dangerous for me,” Danesh told SPR News.
During his work in print journalism and television broadcasting, Danesh would speak out often defending modern values, human rights and women's rights, which he said the Taliban found threatening.
“I received a lot of messages and calls from them, just asking me, why you're stand[ing] against us, and if you do it again, we will kill you and your family and your relatives,” he said.
While he feels safe in the United States, Danesh said he’s sharing his story to raise awareness about the erosion of human rights in Afghanistan.
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Reporting was contributed by Troy Oppie, Anna King, Doug Nadvornick, George Prentice and Monica Carrillo-Casas.