[ OUR OPINION ]
Wie in Sony Open
will benefit everyoneMICHELLE Wie's exemption from having to qualify to compete in the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in January will benefit Sony Corp., Hawaii and Wie, but a few golfers on the PGA Tour can be expected to complain. Their grumbling will be unwarranted, and they know from recent experience to keep it to themselves.
THE ISSUE
Michelle Wie, Hawaii's 14-year-old golf prodigy, will compete in the tournament at Waialae Country Club.
Vijay Singh, the tour's top money winner this year, withdrew from the Colonial Tournament at Fort Worth, Texas, in May because of public backlash to his criticism of a sponsor's exemption for Annika Sorenstam, the world's No. 1 female golfer. Singh had said earlier that he would withdraw if he were to be paired with Sorenstam "because she doesn't belong out here." Nick Price competed in the Colonial while whining that Sorenstam's presence "reeks of publicity."
Of course it does. Publicity is why Bank of America invited Sorenstam, it is why tourism-conscious Governor Lingle asked Sony to invite Wie and it is why Sony extended the exemption to the 14-year-old phenom. It also is why Bank of America and Sony spend millions of dollars to sponsor these tournaments, it is why Price was paid $48,357 for his so-so seven-way tie for 21st place in the Colonial, and it is why Singh got $46,929 for identical mediocrity in this year's Sony Open.
The Colonial this year received more than 500 requests for media credentials, compared with 170 last year. Similarly, Wie has drawn crowds and obsessive television coverage wherever she has competed. That includes nine professional tournaments this year, including Canadian and Nationwide -- the PGA's minor league -- men's tour events. Wie did not make the weekend cut for either of those tournaments, just as Sorenstam failed to make the cut at the Colonial.
Unlike Sorenstam, Wie hits drives as far as most PGA men's tee shots, and her familiarity with the Waialae course could help her become the first woman to make the cut at a PGA event. She has said her main disadvantage in playing against men is their superiority in muscling the ball out of deep rough. That just means she will have to hit it straight, which -- as non-golfers know -- can't be that difficult.
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National test a gauge
for better schoolsHAWAII'S fourth- and eighth-grade students appear to have made improvements in a national test of their math and reading skills. That's good news. That their scores lag behind nationwide averages is disappointing, but the results are evidence, at least, that the advancements among children in public schools here are keeping pace with the rest of the country.
THE ISSUE
The exam shows that Hawaii public schools are keeping pace with others in the country.
In addition, the test provides a gauge to which the Department of Education's own test results can be compared and it shows that the Hawaii State Assessment scores largely match up.
This "second opinion" about how children are faring will become more important as the federal government continues to examine standards that states establish in complying with the No Child Left Behind Act. If there is a big discrepancy between state and national test scores, local officials may have to explain why.
The National Assessment of Education Progress, which was administered from January to March, is called the Nation's Report Card, but because of the relatively small number of students tested -- a sample of 600,000 students nationwide -- its results present a broad overview of achievement rather than the more precise figures in Hawaii's exam.
The NAEP test showed that math scores in public schools here rose significantly this year from 2000. Fourth-grade students bettered their scores by 11 points and eighth-graders by four points. In reading, fourth-graders' scores remained level with last year's, when they had made an eight-point gain from 1998. Meanwhile, eighth-grade students lost a point from 2002 while their counterparts nationwide lost two points
In comparison to national scores, Hawaii's fourth-grade students remain among the states at the bottom, ranking higher than only three states and the District of Columbia in math and ahead of New Mexico and the district in reading. Eighth-grade students scored higher or equal to eight other states and the district in math and five other states and the district in reading.
Hawaii's student averages also fell below national levels in both grades and subjects. Fourth-graders posted 227 while the national average was 234 in math and 208 compared to 216 in reading. Eighth-grade students averaged 266 in math and 251 in reading compared to national figures of 276 and 261 respectively.
Critics of the NAEP test say its achievement levels are unrealistic. Indeed, no state comes close to reaching the perfect score of 500. Among the highest performers in reading, Massachusetts fourth-graders averaged 228, eighth-graders, 273, while Minnesota, among the best in math, found fourth-graders averaging 242, eighth-graders, 291.
Still, the test gives Hawaii's parents and educators a benchmark of achievement and another impetus to push for progress.
