Rhode Island
Will the Gophers solve their Week 1 issues against Rhode Island? Randy Johnson’s prediction.
The Rams need to shorten the game by controlling the ball, force the Gophers into turnovers and make a play or two on special teams to put themselves in position for an upset. Instilling doubt in Minnesota’s mind would go a long way for Rhode Island.
The North Carolina game was an opportunity lost for the Gophers, mainly because they missed out on making a good impression with their fanbase to start the season. They can’t reverse that outcome with a win over Rhode Island. Instead, they need to be sharp in all phases to point themselves in the right direction. It would be surprising to see Taylor play in this game, so the Gophers will continue to develop depth behind him. On defense, expect much better tackling and a better pass rush against an overmatched opponent.
My expectation: The Gophers have more than enough talent to dominate Rhode Island — if they avoid the mental mistakes and frustrations that follow. Gophers 38, Rhode Island 13
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Rhode Island
3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game
![3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game 3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jvYpfueHJ4Vs6OXQM6Q5EyAKJL8=/0x0:5566x2914/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25606834/2168373094.jpg)
Week 2 of the season and the Gophers are hosting an FCS opponent to hopefully get right.
How to Watch
TV: Peacock
Time: 11:00
Stream: Peacock app
The Rams scored a game-winning touchdown with just 19 seconds left to secure their week 1 win over Holy Cross.
3 KEYS
- Change your best – No more stupid and timely mistakes. They’ve had 10 days to work things out and they need to play a much cleaner game.
- Win the line of scrimmage – Both lines need to be a force.
- Dominate third down – Defensively, get off the field. Get some confidence that they can make 3rd down stops.
OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH
- #7 QB – Devin Farrell – The Ram’s new quarterback led the team in passing and rushing last week. This is the guy who the defense needs to limit. Worth noting that Farrell also had 4 fumbles last week, 3 were recovered by the offense.
- #8 LB – AJ Pena – Highest returning tackler from a season ago. Pena was third team All-CAA last year with 15.5 TFLs and 9 sacks.
PREDICTION
This is the “get right” game for the Gophers. Time to start working out the kinks, eliminate some of the mental errors and flex your Big Ten muscles over the FCS opponent.
With that said, PJ Fleck has a well-chronicled history of going vanilla in these games and making them much closer than they need to be. So be prepared to do a little sweating. Brosmer faced the Rams a year ago and threw for over 300 yards in an overtime loss. Don’t expect the loss or many passing yards.
Minnesota – 33
Rhode Island – 12
Rhode Island
McKee Signs Bill to Make Voting Easier for Unaffiliated Voters in Rhode Island – Newport Buzz
![McKee Signs Bill to Make Voting Easier for Unaffiliated Voters in Rhode Island – Newport Buzz McKee Signs Bill to Make Voting Easier for Unaffiliated Voters in Rhode Island – Newport Buzz](https://newportbuzz.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2024/09/Gov-McKee-1024x678.png)
In a major win for Rhode Island’s independent voters, Governor Dan McKee held a ceremonial signing of Bill 2418A / 7662 at West Warwick Town Hall on Wednesday. The legislation, which was sponsored by Representative Patricia Serpa (D-District 27) and Senator Leonidas Raptakis (D-District 33), allows unaffiliated voters to remain unaffiliated after participating in a party primary.
Joining McKee at the event were Secretary of State Gregg Amore, Serpa, Raptakis, and local election officials, including West Warwick Town Manager Mark Knott and Cranston Director of Elections Nick Lima.
“We are all truly lucky, not only to live in a democracy, but also to participate in one, and this bill makes the process of casting a vote easier for unaffiliated voters,” McKee said. The Governor praised the legislation, highlighting Rhode Island’s history of voter engagement.
Secretary of State Gregg Amore echoed those sentiments, saying, “Rhode Islanders are proud to be independent, and this bill reduces the administrative burden on both our state’s unaffiliated voters and the local election officials who process party changes.” Amore thanked Serpa and Raptakis for championing the legislation.
The new law codifies the right of unaffiliated voters to vote in a primary of their choosing, even if they’ve voted in a different party’s primary before. Previously, voters had to fill out paperwork to return to their unaffiliated status after casting a primary vote—a process that many found cumbersome.
“Most voters in Rhode Island are unaffiliated with any political party,” said Serpa, representing West Warwick and Coventry. “This bill allows those voters to remain unaffiliated without having to go through extra paperwork.”
Raptakis pointed out the broader implications for voters who may forget to update their status: “Now that more voting is done through mail-in and provisional ballots, this will stop disenfranchising voters who just forgot to fill out paperwork after the last election.”
Like Newport Buzz? We depend on the generosity of readers like you who support us, to help with our mission to keep you informed and entertained with local, independent news and content. We truly appreciate your trust and support!
![](https://i0.wp.com/newportbuzz.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/08/Kirby-Construction_1000x1000-e1714765347557.png?ssl=1!)
![](https://i0.wp.com/newportbuzz.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2015/05/Hanky-Panky-Newport-RI-Deborah-Winthrop.png?ssl=1!)
Related
Rhode Island
Report gives R.I. education website failing grade for transparency on learning loss since pandemic • Rhode Island Current
![Report gives R.I. education website failing grade for transparency on learning loss since pandemic • Rhode Island Current Report gives R.I. education website failing grade for transparency on learning loss since pandemic • Rhode Island Current](https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-1301319278-scaled-1-2048x1366.jpg)
The pandemic profoundly slowed students’ learning in schools, with kids missing out on academics, social life and other important developments. Have things improved since then? It’s hard to know, based on the longitudinal data states present on pandemic learning loss.
When it comes to presenting data about the pandemic’s impacts on learning, Rhode Island and 12 other states are flunking, according to a report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) released Thursday. The center is based at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College.
Statewide data systems on public schools’ performance metrics — like graduation rates, attendance, student test scores, and per-pupil expenditures — are comparable to the report cards students receive. Publicly accessible, these report cards are meant to keep schools accountable in their delivery of a quality education, and might provide a fuller picture of the pandemic’s long-term ramifications for learning. The researchers specifically look at longitudinal data, or changes over time.
“How easy would it be for an interested parent or advocate to find key performance indicators and compare them pre- and post-COVID?” the researchers asked.
The accountability report card system maintained by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) received an F grade because it was hard to find and compare performance metrics from before 2020 and in recent years, according to the report’s lead author.
“Reviewers found it very hard to find prior years of data [for Rhode Island],” said Morgan Polikoff, a professor at University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education who led the six-person research team. “Since our report was mainly focused on the availability of longitudinal data, the state got an F for that reason.”
“But there were things they liked, like the ‘at a glance’ landing page for each school and the little qualitative summaries that seemed to be written by school principals,” Polikoff said.
More context wanted, but still some positive notes
Polikoff said the research team would have liked more context on the summary page, like answering if a school is on track or not, but they also made positive notes about the presentation of data on student subgroups and the school narrative section. The narratives, usually written by principals, “could be a model for other states to consider” as Polikoff said.
RIDE updated the Report Card layout in the last year, emphasizing achievement and proficiency numbers front and center on individual school, district and statewide profiles. Statewide proficiency in English Language Arts was at 35.1% in the 2022-2023 school year, for example — a number prominent on the report card’s first page.
But the first page of the 2018-2019 report card is formatted differently and doesn’t immediately share this figure. That makes comparing pre- and post-COVID data tricky for those unacquainted with RIDE’s site.
Longitudinal data may be easier to understand when condensed by organizations who already comb through state data, like the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which makes academic progress over time easily deciphered in its KIDS COUNT Factbook.
While academic achievements have seen somewhat sluggish recovery, chronic absenteeism has more vigorously pursued a corrective course, with RIDE attributing the positive change partly to its absenteeism dashboard, which has seen praise and national attention in recent months. (The dashboard is run separately from the overall report card system.) Last month, the education department also shared results of a Harvard Graduate School of Education study that showed Providence schools are doing a little better post-pandemic than comparable districts in other New England states.
“As the report notes, this is a challenge for most states,” Victor Morente, RIDE spokesperson, said in an email Thursday evening. “RIDE is working to better inform all education stakeholders including students, families, and educators about how their school community is doing including identified areas of strength and of needed improvement in the wake of the pandemic.”
Morente added that the agency is “committed to continuous improvement and is currently undertaking changes to its accountability system,” which includes amending the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act State Plan. Public comments on the amendment were accepted through Sept. 2 and are currently being reviewed.
How states were evaluated
The six-person research team evaluated each state’s public school report card system on seven performance metrics. The researchers then assigned points based on how easy it was to find longitudinal data on the metrics — or, in other words, how easy it was to compare the metrics from before, during and after the pandemic. The scores, with 21 points the maximum possible, were then converted to letter grades. Rhode Island scored six points overall, which converted to an F grade.
The seven metrics included:
- Achievement levels in English Language Arts and mathematics
- Growth in in English Language Arts and mathematics achievements
- Proficiency in science
- Proficiency in social studies
- Chronic absenteeism or other attendance indicators
- High school graduation rate
- English language learner proficiency or growth
An additional qualitative rating was assigned to each state for their report card’s usability. Rhode Island received a “fair” rating in this additional category, but researchers’ main gripe with RIDE’s report card was the difficulty involved in finding data — they found pre- and post-COVID data on six metrics only “with too much difficulty,” and one metric (social studies) was not found at all.
Citing nationwide, post-pandemic trends in declining academic achievements, attendance and equity for marginalized students, the report argues that Rhode Island is one of the states that doesn’t effectively share data about changes in public school learning since the pandemic.
“How transparent are these trends to parents or other interested parties?” the report’s six authors asked. “We have lots of suggestive evidence that parents don’t understand the magnitude of the COVID-19 downturns in achievement or attendance, or at least aren’t as concerned as experts think they should be. Is that because school report cards aren’t leveling with parents about how these outcomes have changed since before the pandemic?”
Maine, Vermont also receive F
In the new CRPE study, Connecticut fared the best of all New England states, with an A grade for its report card data on COVID, while New Hampshire was second highest with a C grade. Massachusetts received a D, and Maine and Vermont joined Rhode Island in the F group. Maine was one of three states to score zero points overall — “not necessarily because these states have terrible report cards…[but because] these states’ report cards do not make longitudinal comparisons back to pre-COVID possible for the average user,” according to the report.
Alas, Rhode Island was not alone in its at-times confusing presentation of pandemic-related data.
“Some sites featured attractive visuals that we thought a parent would be able to interpret. In contrast, other sites bombarded the user with mountains of disaggregated data that would be very difficult, if not impossible, for an average viewer without a Ph.D. in data science to understand,” the authors state. “On some sites, the menus for searching and selecting schools were easy to use, while on others, they were sources of maddening frustration.”
Among the most vexing was Vermont, which the report used as an example of poor user-oriented design.
“Vermont offers a series of dashboards that are incredibly challenging to operate or interpret. They are slow, they don’t seem to allow for obvious data export, and the figures and tables they produce are hard to understand,” the report concluded.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
-
World1 week ago
Swiss court convicts two executives of embezzling $1.8bn from 1MDB
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Slingshot (2024) – Movie Review
-
World1 week ago
Commission mandarin flags convergence of digital with industry
-
News1 week ago
After months on the run, a murder suspect falls through the ceiling and into custody
-
News1 week ago
Trump Vs Harris: The Battle Over Hot Mics Heats Up Ahead Of Key Debate
-
World1 week ago
Economic portfolios are key in talks to chose new EU commissioners
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram Movie Review Rating
-
Technology1 week ago
X’s Grok bot now points to government website after election misinformation warnings